A Wandering Heart
by LadyLoki89
Summary: Modern!AU. Since the age of 15, Kyli has had the ability to transport herself to other worlds, and the ability has only grown stronger with time and cost her greatly. After surrendering herself to a life of aimless wandering, Kyli receives some frantic news from her sister. But to help, she has to try to restore a friendship with the one person her inability to change cost her.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

 **Summary:** Modern!Thranduil AU. After surrendering herself to a life of aimless wandering that she knows will ultimately lead to a life of solitude, Kyli receives some frantic news from her sister, begging for her help. But to help, she has to swallow her pride and try to make amends with the one person her inability to change cost her. Balancing her sister's secret in one hand, and her already broken relationship in the other, she must help see her sister through things while trying not to reopen old wounds. Special thank you to my RP partner, greenwoodwines, for the inspiration and any details she provided for Modern!Thranduil's and Modern!Legolas' characters.

 **Warnings:** Sex/Adult references, language, violence, brief mentions of suicidal thoughts, and general angst. I own nothing.

"You're late."

Kyli looked up from the dresser drawer, searching for a pair of leggings as Thranduil's voice interrupted her. Though he remained in the doorway, she could see the frown on his face as he watched her with disappointment.

"Traffic was bad," she answered, finally pulling out what she needed. "And I got out of my shift late. We had a late shipment today and I had to stay behind to make sure all the cartons were accounted for. I got here as fast as I could..."

Thranduil's frown deepened and Kyli paused, her shoulders dropping as she already knew he was on to her.

"At least in the beginning, you put in a little more effort when you lied to me," he muttered, turning away from her. "Your car's not even parked outside."

Kyli closed her eyes, lowering her head, and let out a sigh. "Fine." She tossed the leggings onto the bed and moved to the closet to pull out her cocktail dress she intended to wear to their dinner. "Work was rough today, and I had a moment of weakness so I went away for a little while to blow off steam."

"A moment of weakness?" Thranduil inquired, turning back to her with annoyance in his features. "How many times have you used that term as an excuse, Kyli?" Kyli opened her mouth, wanting to defend her actions, but when she knew there was no way for her to do it, she let it fall shut again, avoiding eye contact as he confronted her. Thranduil sighed, running his fingers through his hair as he paced away from her for a moment.

He had a very important dinner meeting planned for that night, and the last thing he wanted to do was fight with her before leaving. But his mood was particularly sour, especially after hearing her lie to him again, and so poorly at that. He turned to her, keeping his tone calm as he felt the need to speak his mind. "I'm trying to be understanding. I expected in the beginning that this was not going to be easy for you, and I'd like to think I've been patient about it..."

"I'm doing the best I can," she responded, unable to look at him.

"It's been a year since you promised me you were going to end this, do you remember?" He stared her down, not allowing any room for her excuses. He had heard too many of them. "You made a promise. You said you wanted a life with me... a normal life... and I promised I would help you in any way I could because I thought then that you were as committed to our relationship as I was."

Kyli shook her head, remorse in her eyes, and she began to plead with him. "I've been weak, and I'm sorry. I still want those things. I still want all of those things."

"I don't think you do..." His gaze was piercing and she stood speechless. He sighed deeply and lowered his eyes. "And I... I don't think we can build a life together. Not when you can not decide what is more important to you even after a year's time." He lowered his eyes from her and turned away. Now was not the time to be doing this, and he knew it. They were already running late.

Kyli stood frozen, her mind unsure of how to even process what he was saying. "Just like that?" she asked in a quiet voice, her eyes hesitating before looking at him. His gaze darkened and he turned his back on her, doubting his ability to do what he knew he needed to while watching it break her heart.

"I will go alone tonight," he answered her. "While I am gone... perhaps you should start packing your things. I will pay for whatever moving arrangements you need to make. You still have your lease on your old apartment?"

While her apartment was mostly empty now, she had renewed the lease for one more year as a fail-safe. Just in case.

"Yes," she answered, nodding slowly. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream at him. There were a million things she wanted to do, all of them clamoring through her brain at once, trying to surface so she could at least react in some way, but it all seemed to become jammed and she stood numb. Thranduil nodded, his back still to her, and he began to make his way to the door when Kyli's voice stopped him. "I'm going with you, tonight," she spoke up. He paused and turned, his brow furrowed.

"I know how important this dinner is to you," she said softly, her face almost entirely emotionless. "And they are already expecting me to be there with you. If you show up alone, with that look on your face, they'll ask questions and pry... and I don't think you need that right now." He lowered his eyes, unable to argue with her. He was in no mood for anyone's curiosity as to what went wrong. He still hadn't thought up a good lie to tell them. Nothing that would avoid painting her to be the villain, at least. Kyli began to undress, pulling off her clothes and changing into her cocktail dress.

"I can pretend that we're a happy couple one last time if you can," she stated flatly, sliding the straps of her dress over her shoulders. She gathered her hair in her hand and turned her back to him. "Zip me up?"

Thranduil hesitated, his eyes growing darker. He remembered clearly a time when the woman before him fell crumpled to the floor, sobbing in fear of losing him forever the day he learned her secret. She was a far cry from the woman who now stood in front of him, carelessly waiting for him to zip her dress. Perhaps she was more lost to her nature than he initially thought. Taking a deep breath, he approached her, taking hold of her zipper and slowly tugging it upwards. Once he reached the top, his fingers lightly brushed over her skin for a moment, then over her shoulders, his eyes wandering to the mirror in front of her, looking for a reaction. Anything to hint that she still loved him.

There was nothing.

"Thank you," she said softly, stepping out from his touch to quickly fix up her hair and makeup. Once she was ready to go, she picked up her purse from the bed and drew the strap over her shoulder. "Sorry to make you late," the muttered, and walked past him, heading for the front door. Thranduil waited behind her for a moment, watching her leave, and he lowered his head. Taking a deep breath, he did what he knew Kyli was so well practiced in doing. He pushed all of his emotions aside and quickly joined her, preparing himself to pretend as much as needed in front of his potential investors.

Kyli's lying was far more impressive by the time they arrived at the restaurant. They entered with her on his arm, a smile on her face as if they had just shared in a joke at some point in the parking lot. Throughout the dinner, she spoke highly of him, reached out to lovingly take his hand in hers on occasion, even played along with any teasing inquiries as to when they would finally tie the knot. Anyone who watched them would never have known that it was already over.

As their dinner wrapped up, the business arrangements made and agreements settled, they signaled for the check while Kyli finished her glass of wine.

"Kyli, it's been a pleasure, as always," spoke up one of the gentlemen at the table, and she flashed him an appreciative smile. "I don't know how a shrewd man like Thranduil can manage to keep you in his life without marrying you before someone else snatches you up." He chuckled and Kyli laughed in return. Thranduil's eyes lowered, unable to fully hide the pain the well-intentioned joke caused him. He could put on a convincing act if he ever needed to, but he was reaching his limits, and Kyli's seemingly inability to even share a shred of what he was feeling only made it worse.

He failed to remove the look from his face fast enough, and one of the men noticed.

"Seems I plucked a nerve," he mused, letting out an awkward chuckle. Before Thranduil could answer, Kyli opened her mouth.

"You'll have to forgive my ex," she said, the smile fading from her face. "Jokes about our future together make him rather uncomfortable right now, considering the fact that he dumped me just before we got here."

Thranduil tensed, his head snapping in her direction, and the table fell silent. Kyli's eyes moved to him, and he finally saw it. A look of utter disdain for him leaked through her eyes. It was brief, but just long enough for him to see. Without another word, she slid her chair back and stood up, reaching into her purse to pull out a few bills for the tip. Setting them down on the table, she turned her back on them and made her way to the exit.

Thranduil sat stunned, unsure if he should follow after her or stay put. As the shock faded, it was quickly replaced with anger as he was not one who appreciated being made into a fool, least of all in front of others. He stared at Kyli's empty chair for a moment, his jaw clenching, and he rose from his seat, muttering a quiet, "Excuse me..." before turning to the door.

When he stepped into the parking lot, he found her waiting near his car, her arms crossed over her chest while she glared at him.

"What was that?" he demanded, closing in on her. "If being here and pretending to be a happy couple one last time bothered you, then you should have stayed behind like I suggested. There was no reason to-"

"I guess I lied," she answered coldly. "I do that a lot, remember?"

His brow furrowed and he turned away from her, running his fingers through his hair in frustration as he let out an exasperated groan. "If I had known you were only intending to be childish tonight..." his voice trailed off and he turned back to face her, his blood boiling. "Your things... I want them out of my house by the end of the week. I want you out by the end of the week." He turned, looking back to the restaurant and fearing one of the investors would wander out to check on them and overhear. "I know you're angry with me, Kyli. And I'm glad... because at least that shows some fraction of you still cares at all about us. But I would never have done that to you. I never would have blatantly tried to hurt or insult you in public out of sheer pettiness."

"No," Kyli answered softly, lowering her head. "You would only give up on me entirely..." She looked back up at him, tears rolling down her cheeks. She brushed a hand over the side of her face and turned her back on him. "I don't need the week. Provide me with a moving truck, and I'll be gone by the end of tomorrow." He said nothing, watching her as she glanced back at him from over her shoulder. "You'd better get back in there." Without another word, she vanished, and Thranduil spun around, looking to make sure no one had seen. Fortunately, the only other occupants in the parking lot were clear at the other end, and too busy getting in to their car to have noticed.

Sitting on a stone bench, Olivia stirred when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She muttered a quick apology to the person sitting beside her, seeing that she had a text from her sister on the screen, and she quickly opened it to read it.

Her expression saddened, and she frowned, lowering her phone slowly before handing it over to the young man sitting beside her, knowing he would want to see it as well. She gave him a moment to read it before speaking. "Your father's probably going to call you soon. If he hasn't already texted you."

"He hasn't yet," Legolas answered, reading the message twice before handing it back to Olivia. "He tends to wait to break bad news when he knows I have finals coming up. He prefers not to distract me with his personal life..." His eyes wandered over Olivia's face, gauging her reaction to the news. "If you need to go back to your sister, I'll understand. I can't imagine she's taking this well. She may want the comfort."

Olivia shook her head, putting her phone back in her pocket. "It can wait til morning. Besides, it'll already be pretty late at night by the time I get there." Turning to him, she sighed and shook her head again. "You do realize this just made it a million times harder to tell them about us..."

Legolas smiled sadly, slipping his arm around her waist and gently kissing her temple. "It can wait then," he murmured into her hair. "We'll let things settle for a while first... and then we'll tell them. I can wait a bit longer." Olivia smiled at his touch and nodded her head before kissing him tenderly.

"Thank you."


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The bell on the door to the coffee shop jingled, the door creaking momentarily on its hinges as another customer gradually made their way in, seeming to have some difficulty. Out of habit, Thranduil glanced up from his paper just for a moment, curious if the entering patron needed some assistance, but he saw the door close again, and he returned his eyes to his paper.

Only for a moment...

His brow furrowed, his mind registering something, and as the customer shuffled past him and into the line, he waited until their back was to him before looking up once more.

He recognized her long brown hair, hanging freely in loose curls, and he took note she was still wearing the same style of clothes she always wore to work: Black slacks, white blouse, and a jacket over top that matched her pants. When it came to work, he recalled she hardly had much interest in playing around with her appearance or changing it up a bit.

His eyes moved down to her right side, taking note of the cane she clutched, supporting herself as she waited in line, and he felt himself frown.

Her head began to move, and he lowered his eyes back to his paper, feeling her gaze on him only for a few seconds before she looked away again.

* * *

 _He had not intended to watch her as she looked around for a table where she could sit, but after noticing how she glanced around, her frown forming as she realized all the other tables were occupied, he cleared his throat, hoping to signal her attention._

 _"Excuse me…"_

 _At first, she did not look, not expecting anyone there to be speaking to her as she did not see anyone she recognized. But the voice spoke up again._

 _"Miss?"_

 _Kyli turned her head, looking towards the table next to the window. Sitting there was a man dressed in a business suit, a friendly expression on his face as he looked at her. In one hand, he held a cup of coffee, and in the other was a newspaper, folded in half. If she had to guess, he looked as though he were at least 20 years older than her. The last detail did not intimidate her, but she knew well enough to be wary._

 _"Me?" she asked, gesturing to herself._

 _He nodded slightly and gestured to the empty seat at his table. "You're welcome to take this seat. No one's using it."_

 _"Oh…" she answered, looking around unsure. "No, that's fine. I'll just-"_

 _"I'm about to leave, myself," he assured her, trying to make it apparent his courteous gesture was nothing more than that. Though he had been curiously watching her from the moment she first passed his gaze, it was hardly for any other reason than simple curiosity. She had looked unhappy from the moment she stepped in and, truthfully, he felt a simple act of kindness might help to lighten her mood._

 _Kyli considered it, then shrugged. There was something in his demeanor that seemed trustworthy, though if she was wrong, she had the comfort of knowing they were in public, and she always carried some sort of pocket knife on her._

 _Nodding her head to him, she pulled out the chair and took a seat, muttering a soft, "Thanks."_

* * *

Kyli cringed, her hand rubbing absentmindedly at her hip as she hobbled her way to the fridge for a beer. From the living room, Olivia twisted around on the couch, noticing her sister's pained movements, and her brow furrowed.

"Did you forget to refill your prescription again?"

Kyli nodded, popping the top off of the bottle and taking a sip. "I called the pharmacy too late," she answered. "I'll be able to grab it in the morning, though." Olivia frowned and let out a sigh, shaking her head.

"I've got ibuprofen in my purse..."

"It wouldn't do any good," Kyli answered, trying to sound polite about it. "But thanks anyways." She turned back around, using the counter to support herself to the wall, then guided herself along the wall until she was able to reach the couch.

"Here," Olivia muttered, scooting to the opposite end so Kyli would not need to maneuver her way further to the empty space, and Kyli let herself drop where her sister had been sitting. "How did your last visit go?" Olivia asked after she was settled.

"They want to give physical therapy more of a chance," Kyli answered, a grim expression on her face. "Another month... and then they're going to look at additional surgery. But he didn't sound too optimistic about either idea." She gave a shrug and shook her head. "Pretty sure they're just going to end up upping my meds. It's not like there was much they could do anyways."

"You don't know... something could-"

"It's okay, Liv," Kyli replied, forcing a half smile. "Stop worrying about me." Olivia sighed and sat back against the couch, returning her attention to the TV. Kyli hesitated for a moment, then took another sip before speaking.

"I saw him today."

Olivia turned her head, not even needing to ask who she was referring to. "You two met up?"

"No," she answered a little too quickly, shaking her head. "I mean, I saw him while I was getting coffee this morning. He was at one of the tables." Olivia gauged her sisters' expressions as she spoke, unsure of what to say, if she should say anything at all.

"Did you two talk?" she asked after a moment. Kyli shook her head.

"No. I barely even glanced at him. And I don't think he saw me anyways. He was too busy reading his paper." Her fingertips lightly ran over the edge of her beer bottle, and she sighed softly. "It felt... weird."

"You were together for a long time, Kyli," Olivia replied, trying to offer some support. "You were living together for over a year. It's not like you're supposed to just be over it. Even if it's been a year, it's not like you just-"

"I know," Kyli answered, a sad smile faintly painting itself on her lips. "It's just... you get into certain habits when you're with someone long enough, you know? I saw him, and a part of me had the immediate instinct to kiss his cheek and join him at the table, like nothing went wrong between us. Like I just forgot for a moment..." She lowered her eyes, thinking for a few moments, then turned her gaze to Olivia. "I put in for some vacation time at work. A week and a few days."

Olivia paused, a knowing look in her eyes, and Kyli averted her gaze, in no mood to listen to what was coming. She knew it was only right to let her sister know when she was going to be gone, but lately, she was beginning to question if offering her the heads up was really worth listening to the backlash

"I'm leaving tonight, and I'll be back by next Monday morning," she continued, and Olivia shook her head.

"You didn't really forget to fill out that prescription, did you?" Her tone was accusing, and Kyli did not look at her or answer. Olivia glared at her in disbelief. "Are you... are you kidding me right now? You've been skipping out on your pain meds again so your head will be clear enough for traveling?"

"I'm only telling you I'll be gone as a courtesy," Kyli stated flatly. "Your approval is not needed."

"Dammit, Kyli!" Olivia snapped, jumping to her feet and stepping in front of her sister so that she would have no choice but to look at her. "Look at what happened to you! Look at how much it's screwed up your life! How much more do you have to lose before you start giving a damn?"

"Liv..." Kyli spoke in a warning tone, but Olivia did not let her finish whatever it was she was about to say.

"You're going to lose everything. You understand that, right? Is that what you want? To just aimlessly wander around worlds and leave the rest of us behind? I know it hardly occurs to you anymore, but there are people here who care about you! Is that reason not good enough for you?"

Kyli lowered her eyes to the floor, but most of Olivia's words were falling on deaf ears. "It is good enough, Liv. And I do care..." she muttered. "...it's just not what I want."

Olivia pursed her lips and grabbed her purse from the coffee table, storming her way to the front door and tugging it open loudly.

"I don't think you even know what you want anymore," she spat, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

 _"So let me see if I have this correctly..."_

 _Kyli smiled as she watched him sit back in his seat, his fingers lightly tapping over a small shopping bag, its top tucked neatly over the book it contained inside. "You work in a bookstore, and as part of your job you dissuade customers from purchasing your products?"_

 _She chuckled softly, shaking her head and taking another sip of her iced coffee. "Not all of them," she answered. "Just... the ones I already know will be a waste of their money."_

 _"And you trust you have the ability to read people well enough to make that assumption?" he mused, making it clear he was only jesting._

 _"No... but sometimes it's easy to tell. Take that book for example-" She pointed to his bag as she spoke. "-the author may have written one of the greatest pieces of American literature, which is one of my personal favorites, by the way... But this 'sequel' was actually what she originally wrote. This is what her masterpiece was originally going to be. Before publishers convinced her to make the story take place at an earlier time. Even some of the main characters are written with completely different personalities."_

 _"And your point?"_

 _"My point is i_ _t wasn't published because it was her next greatest piece. It was published because it was written by her, which means people will buy it. It's all about the money."_

 _She sat back in her chair, stirring her drink with her straw, her pessimism seeming to amuse him as he nodded, already well aware of what she spoke. "Are you not at all curious as to how she originally planned things to be?" he inquired. "It may not be the next greatest work of literature. It may not even make a dent. But does it not interest you to see where her ideas truly began, knowing now how they ultimately turned out by the end?"_

 _Kyli's smile curved a little more, seeming impressed with his reply._

 _"Your skepticism is warranted," he assured her. "But there's something to be said for a little curiosity. Wouldn't you agree?"_

 _She nodded to him, glancing at her watch as she spoke. "Curiosity can definitely take you to some interesting places..." As she saw the time, she sighed, standing up from her seat. "I'd better get going. But thank you for letting me sit here. I really hate heading into work earlier than I need to."_

 _"My pleasure," he replied. "And thank you for the conversation miss...?"_

 _"Kyli," she answered, rising from her seat._

 _"Thranduil," he introduced, and she nodded her head in acknowledgment._

 _"Thanks again," she repeated, and turned for the door, Thranduil taking note of the smile still on her lips as she walked._

* * *

Olivia glanced down either ends of the hall, waiting impatiently until she heard the lock click and the door to Legolas' dorm room opened slowly. When he saw her face, he smiled and stepped back, pulling it open the rest of the way for her. "I got your text," he said, opening his arms to her and wrapping her in his embrace. "Are you all right? You sounded upset."

Olivia leaned into his embrace for a few moments, closing her eyes and smiling as she took in his familiar scent, and she shook her head, stepping back as he gently released her.

"I uh... I had a fight with my sister," she answered, tucking her hair behind her ear. "It's okay though. Don't worry about it. I just wanted to see you." She forced a smile for him and he returned a genuine one to her, stepping aside to allow her in.

"I should warn you," he began to say as he closed the door behind her. "My roommate will be back in about an hour or so..."

Though Olivia knew Thranduil had offered -repeatedly- to provide Legolas with housing on campus that would provide him with more than enough room and privacy than the dorms could offer, but Legolas had declined, desiring to have the same college experience for himself that most students underwent. The dorms there were fairly large, as was to be expected from one of the wealthiest and most prestigious colleges in the country, but Legolas was mindful of the level of privacy Olivia preferred, and knew how embarrassed she acted whenever his roommate knew she had slept over. Despite her often bold and not withholding personality, it was the one thing she was always shy about. He secretly loved it for the oddity that it was.

"Actually... I wanted to ask if you'd come down with me weekend?" she said in response. Legolas' eyebrows raised a bit.

"To.. to your parents'?" he asked.

"No!" Olivia snorted. "Kyli's going to be gone on vacation, and I'll be apartment sitting for her..." Her voice trailed off suggestively and Legolas nodded in understanding.

"Are you sure that's wise?" he asked, though she could see in his eyes he was already considering it. She nodded.

"She won't be back 'til a week from Monday. You'd be gone long before she got back," Olivia assured him. Legolas hesitated for a moment, but it did not take long for his lips to curve into a smile.

"I only need a minute to pack," he murmured, leaning in and kissing her forehead.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"You don't look like you belong here..."

A smirk curved on Kyli's lips as she looked up from her book, the young voice, full of curiosity, meriting her attention even if only for a short while. She had arrived only an hour prior, having decided to let her mind tug her to a place at random. Once she had landed, she found herself just outside a quiet village, the sort she would expect to read about in a fairytale, and too early in the morning for too many people to be out and about, save for farmers and a few people setting up their shops.

Whenever she landed some place new, she loved to observe first, then explore a bit, learning whatever she could (provided the inhabitants were friendly enough), before moving on to some place else. The first visit usually served as an establishing point so she would have it set in her mind and return easily at will. Normally in a situation like this, she would have simply left to find some place else where the hour was later and the surroundings were more lively and possibly attempt returning later. But upon her arrival, she could not withstand the pain in her hip anymore and gave in, taking half a dose of her pain medication. The medication she had been prescribed caused her head to cloud and frequently left her stuck or made it difficult for her to navigate between worlds. It was the first substance she had ever taken that had such an effect. It was why she avoided it when she wanted to travel.

Knowing she could not go anywhere for a while, she settled herself down in the grass by a tree and pulled out one of her books, reading quietly until the voice interrupted her.

A small boy stood just in front of her, staring at her with curiosity. His dark trousers, clearly worn from countless hours of play (and possibly some labor), and his faded tunic only served as evidence as to how much her clothes from home caused her to stand out.

"That's a funny way of putting it," she stated in response, amused by the young boy's choice of words. "Do you mind if I read here anyway?" He shrugged, seeming surprised that she would make it sound as though he had a say in the matter, and Kyli returned her gaze to her book, searching for where she left off. The boy continued to speak.

"We don't get visitors here often. That's how I knew," he announced, and she nodded in acknowledgment. His eyes wandered down to her cane. "Did you hurt yourself?" he asked, smart enough to deduct that she could not have needed it due to age. Kyli glanced at her cane, then back up to the boy, admiring his curiosity.

"It's an old battle wound," she answered vaguely.

"Are you a warrior? You don't look like one..."

Kyli chuckled softly in amusement as his inquiring mind gave her an idea. "Are you familiar with ogres?" she asked, setting her book on her lap. The boy nodded his head.

"Mum says to stay out of the forest. That's where they live. So long as we don't bother them, they don't bother us."

"Ah," she replied with a nod. "You're right. I'm not from here. My home is far, far away. I used to live in a big house with lots of servants and riches. My family was the wealthiest in the land. But that's what lured the ogre to us." The boy's eyes widened and Kyli sat upright, becoming more animated as she told her fictitious tale. "Your mother is right. Ogres don't typically come after people unless they're provoked. But there was one who was so greedy, he wanted nothing more than to take away my family's treasures. And so, he attacked! Came to us in the middle of the night and stole everything he could get his hands on. I tried to stop him, but he got me."

She patted at her bad hip for emphasis, then pointed to the forest in the distance. "I've been tracking him, and now I know he lies in those woods there. And he still has my family's treasure. The rest of my family is too afraid to do it, but I refuse to rest until I take back what is mine."

The boy stared at her, stunned as he believed every word, and Kyli enjoyed watching her story fill him with excitement, though he seemed worried as he glanced back at the forest, then to her.

"Aren't you afraid?" he asked. "What if you get hurt again? What if you don't even make it?"

She smiled faintly, pulling something from the back of her mind. " _Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt..._ " The boy's brow furrowed and Kyli took notice. "It means that you shouldn't let fear stop you, or else you could miss getting the good things you want in your life."

Understanding now, the boy nodded, smiling a little. "I hope you get your treasure back then," he replied, and he looked over his shoulder into the town, then back at her. "My father runs the tavern just up the road. If you're hungry, I'm sure he'll let you have something to eat. He rarely turns down travelers. Even if they are dressed strangely."

Her stomach was starting to growl, and she had yet to make plans for lodging, let alone food. Reaching for her cane, she struggled her way up to her feet, grunting in pain for a moment, then nodding to the boy. "Lead the way."

"Tyron," the boy introduced.

"I'm Kyli," she replied in return. "Lead the way, Tyron."

* * *

 _"I'm starting to doubt this is simply a coincidence, Kyli."_

 _Kyli glanced up from her iced coffee, staring at him curiously as he watched her, his eyes always observing her so carefully._

 _"What are you talking about?" she asked, setting her purse down on the seat beside her. She had only just arrived, and rather than greeting her with his usual 'Good Morning,' he spoke as if they had already been in the middle of a conversation and she had simply missed the first half of it._

 _Thranduil glanced around the coffee shop to all the full tables, then back to her, a faint smile on his lips as if he were waiting for her to admit to something. She simply stared back at him as she sipped on her drink._

 _"You are within walking distance of both your work, and this coffee house. You have been working the same early shift for at least the past month and a half with plenty of time to adapt to a new sleep schedule... and yet you somehow manage to always make a late enough start to arrive just as this place is at its busiest... and the last table is occupied." He took a drink from his coffee and sat back, watching her with faint amusement while she said nothing. As he set his cup down, he continued. "And, of course, by that time you have no excuse to sit anywhere else, except the one table where you know someone will be waiting who is kind enough to offer you the empty seat across from them..."_

 _"You think I'm doing this on purpose?" she replied, setting her drink down in exchange for a bite from her doughnut. Thranduil looked back at her knowingly, and as soon as she swallowed, she opened her mouth to object, only for his words to stop her._

 _"I've noticed you a few times... glancing at the windows from across the street and checking to see if you have your excuse yet."_

 _Kyli's lips formed a smile, and she lowered her eyes to the table, unwilling to argue with him. Thranduil's fingers lightly tapped the table in front of him before he adjusted himself in his seat, still watching her with amusement._

 _"For a month and a half, you've sat with me because there was nowhere else to sit. I can't help but wonder how much longer you intend to carry out this charade before you finally just sit with me because you can? Because you want to, not because you have to?"_

 _She could feel her cheeks turning red, and she sat back in her seat, watching him silently for a moment._

 _"Are you afraid that I'd ask you not to sit with me?" he asked curiously. She did not answer immediately, allowing herself another bite before speaking._

 _"I know you were just being courteous the first time... I guess I'm still worried you only let me sit with you because you're still just being courteous... not because you'd consider me a friend at this point." She did not need to say why. She knew he was well aware of the very apparent age gap between them, though it was easy to forget every time they became caught up in conversation. For her, at least. She often wondered how much he thought about it and feared to find out if he was ever simply humoring her._

 _He smiled a little at the suggestion of her already considering him as a friend, and he seemed to contemplate it for a moment before responding. "Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt..." he quoted._

 _"Measure for Measure," she said immediately, recognizing it. "Shakespeare."_

 _"You know it?" he asked, impressed by her ability to pull it so quickly from her memory._

 _"It's one of the quotes hanging in the bookstore," she admitted and he chuckled at her honesty. "So... let's say I show up earlier tomorrow, and I go to sit with you, and there's still an empty table available that I could be sitting at instead... what happens?"_

 _He tilted his head, contemplating an answer for her, though she suspected he only delayed as his way of teasing her. "Do you know why I come here, Kyli?" he asked her._

 _She raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing there's an answer less obvious than, 'For coffee'?"_

 _Again, he chuckled and shook his head. "My coffee maker broke one morning, and I am, unfortunately, unable to function properly without a cup before work. And I just so happened to come here the day I met you." He paused, and gave her a meaningful look. "My coffee maker was replaced over a month ago and the one I have works perfectly now."_

 _Kyli felt her smile spread a little, and she laughed, leaning forward in her seat and letting her arms rest along the edge of the table as he continued to speak._

 _"I'd rather hoped you would know by now that I do, in fact, enjoy sitting with you. And yes... I do consider you a friend. Enough that I would rather spend the extra money, buying a cup of coffee when I have a perfectly functional coffee maker at home... just so I can have my morning conversations with you. You seem to have fallen into part of my routine, and I have no complaints."_

 _Kyli shook her head, chuckling softly and folding her arms over her chest. "So I've been wasting time, waiting for the place to fill up so I have an excuse to sit with you... and you've been wasting money just so you can sit with me?"_

 _"It seems that way," he answered in amusement._

 _"So... now what?" she asked, reaching for her doughnut and pulling for another piece to pop into her mouth._

 _"Well... I would appreciate a chance to know you better, and it seems this odd habit we've formed here does not exactly allot us much time." He shifted in his seat, leaning forward a bit and smiled at her. "So how about dinner tonight? I know a place. It's casual, the food is great. We can sit and talk, without having to worry about rushing off to work... and get to know each other better as friends. How does that sound?"_

 _She barely hesitated._

 _"Which restaurant?"_

* * *

"I'm impressed your sister still takes time to travel abroad as often as she does," Legolas mused, staring up at the ceiling as he spoke. "Especially with her hip in such bad shape from the accident. At least she does not let the complications hold her back."

'Travelling abroad,' he become Olivia's and Kyli's lie for what she was really doing, though the term was not necessarily out of place. While Thranduil was well aware of Kyli's secret, it had never been mentioned to Legolas, and Olivia had yet to find a reason why it would ever need to be.

She barely grunted in response, and Legolas turned his head, his brow knitting together as he looked at her. "Are you all right?"

Olivia sat at the edge of the bed, staring at the floor as she gripped at the edges. Her body wavered for a moment, then she got to her feet, moving quickly without a word, across the hall and into the bathroom, promptly closing the door behind her. Legolas remained where he was on the bed, stirring when he heard her begin to retch.

"Liv?" he called, sitting up. Though she was clearly trying to be quiet, he could hear the sounds of vomiting coming from behind the bathroom door. He drew back the sheets, walking briskly in his pajama bottoms to the bathroom door, and came to a stop just before it. "Liv? Are you all right?" he called.

"Yeah," she groaned in response, the sound of flushing and the sink running soon following her voice. The door opened once she was done rinsing her mouth out, and she groaned again, leaning against the door frame. "I think I have some sort of bug... I feel like crap."

Legolas frowned, stepping a little closer and resting his hand against her forehead. "You're warm," he noted. "You definitely have a fever. Go and lie down..."

"You should go," she murmured, shuffling past him and towards the bed. "I don't want you to catch it. This coming week's your last week to study before finals..." She climbed into her sister's bed, slowly laying back down on her side, and Legolas followed close behind, drawing the blankets over her before bending down to kiss her forehead.

"Don't worry about me," he spoke softly, brushing her hair from her face. "You rest, and I'll make you some tea." He pressed a second kiss to her temple and turned to leave the bedroom, heading into the kitchen to put the kettle on the stove. When he returned, he brought with him the thermometer from the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bed, handing it to her.

"That thing you asked me about?" he said as she slipped it under her tongue. "The coffee house?" Olivia nodded, unable to speak as she waited for the thermometer to take its reading. "My father mentioned it when he called to check up last night." Her brow raised inquiringly, but he shrugged. "He... did not have much to say. He only mentioned that he saw her."

The thermometer beeped and Olivia pulled it out of her mouth, looking at the number as she spoke. "How did he sound?"

"Neutral, to be honest. He made no comments as to her appearance or how he at least thought she looked. Nothing to indicate how it made him feel. But that may be a good sign. He... does not hide it very well from me when something upsets him."

"Kyli was pretty neutral too," Olivia answered. "But I'd take that with a grain of salt... 102? Damn..." She handed him the thermometer so that he could see the reading for himself, and he frowned, taking it back into the bathroom to wash off and stow away.

"Do you still think we should stick to the plan?" he called over the sink as he rinsed off the thermometer. "Telling them both after I graduate?"

"I think so," she called back, settling back against the pillows. "Rip off the bandage after your graduation and my transfer goes through... and then we can look for a place to rent together near campus while I finish taking all of my courses and you start your residency at the hospital." He returned to her, smiling at her from the doorway as she rolled onto her side and held her stomach. "I think we've waited long enough."

"I would not expect a pleasant reaction," he warned and she smirked.

"I never expected that. Even when things were civil between them. The breakup just made it worse." She frowned, her eyes wandering to the wall as she stared at nothing in particular. "I know it hurt her a lot worse than she let on. Kyli's the type who tries to hide and control her emotions, but I knew it really hurt her. It just felt so strange because I almost felt worse for your father. I don't think he saw it that way."

Legolas shook his head. "Not exactly," he sighed. "I hope their reaction to our relationship will not be too harsh... but you are right. We've given them enough time and kept it hidden long enough." Olivia nodded in agreement, and Legolas turned his head as he heard the kettle begin to whistle. As he moved to prepare her tea, Olivia smiled as she watched him leave. If anyone could understand the relief of finally having their secret out in the open, she hoped Kyli would.


	4. Chapter 3

Kyli closed her eyes and let her mind fall into the abyss, curious to see where she would land this time as the door opened for her.

When she opened them once more, she was deep within a forest, the sounds of a stringed instrument strumming and the smell of roasting meat in the distance. Steadying herself with her cane, she made her way in that direction, the sounds and smells growing stronger with each step. Eventually, she reached a clearing, and stopped just at the edge, taking in the sight before her.

A small campfire burned in the center as a group of what appeared to be hunters sat around it, enjoying a meal. They were clad in leather, their bows and arrows all kept close to them, and their boisterous (if not slightly drunk) singing filled the night air. Kyli remained where she was, a smile on her face as she admired the sight before her. Part of the fun of traveling was observing different settings from a distance. This was one of those moments, and the accompanying music was only a bonus to her.

As their song drew to a close, there was laughter, words she could not make out from where she stood, and drinking. Though she would have loved to remain where she was, watching them in their merriment, the forest was growing dark and she preferred to attempt to find her way out, hoping their presence meant there was village close by. Kyli turned to take her leave, but with her first step forward, a branch snapped beneath her feet.

"What was that?"

"Someone out there?"

"I think I saw something... Oy! You!"

She could have fled. She could have disappeared and left without a trace, and they would have been unable to stop her. But there was a curiosity in her that had always been her weakness. And she had learned before in the past, there was not always a need to be so hasty to escape.

She gave herself a moment, making sure her head was clear in case she did need to make a quick exit, and turned back around, finding they had all lept to their feet in response, some of them already reaching for their weapons. She approached them slowly, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible, and as the hunters saw her coming, their stances relaxed somewhat at the sight of an unarmed woman with a limp. Their weapons lowered.

"Are you lost, lass?" one of them called, watching her with mild confusion. "It's not wise to wander this deep into the forest alone."

"I'm afraid I am," she answered with a half smile. "The forest got dark on me, so I followed the sounds of singing. Hope that's all right..." The hunters exchanged glances with each other for a moment, seeming unsure of what to do with her.

"Then you best come sit with us 'til morning," called another one in the group. The body language of the surrounding hunters made her suspect he must have been their leader. There was a friendly smile on his face, and he waved her over. "We've plenty of food and drink if you're hungry."

Kyli surveyed them carefully. Their demeanor was nothing more than welcoming, and she felt she could trust them. But she kept her head clear and ready, just in case.

"I'm actually not very hungry," she said, making her way up to them and taking a seat. "But if you don't mind... I'd love to hear another song."

"You heard the lady," the leader spoke aloud to the others. "Another song!"

As the strumming began once more, Kyli reached in her pocket, discreetly turning on her phone and sliding the cursor in the direction she knew would turn on the camera. Pressing the button on the side, she sat back, the camera only capturing the inside of her pocket, but the microphone capturing their sounds.

* * *

 _"I never realized you were so interested in music..."_

 _Kyli's fingers stopped their movements over the CD cases, and her head poked up from the bargain bin, smiling up at Thranduil as he briefly skimmed over the adjacent display. It was apparent in the way he hardly looked anything over that he did not share her interest, or at least not as intently, but he had been more than happy to pull over when the promotional sign in the window had caught her eye._

 _"You're not?" she asked, returning her gaze to the bin, pulling out a case to look it over. He paused for a moment, taking note of how he did not recognize the majority of the bands on display, and the corner of his mouth turned in amusement, deciding to keep that to himself. Not that he really suspected it would surprise her._

 _"I enjoy live performances... though I never really kept up with today's music I suppose," he answered. Kyli smirked a little, suspecting as much. As she looked at him, she could not help pausing for a moment to truly take him in. It was not often that he dressed casually, and even for him "casual" was using the term loosely. They had been meeting up at least once every weekend for the past month, usually to go out to dinner and talk about their weeks. She was used to meeting up with him shortly after he got out of work, so more often than not, he was still wearing his suit for the office._

 _That night was different. Earlier in the week, she had mentioned a movie that had caught her interest, and he made the suggestion that they go, just to change up their routine a bit. Though she had not really pictured him any more a cinephile than he was an audiophile, she agreed and even let him pick her up from her apartment to save on gas. When he showed up at her door, rather than his usual suit, he was dressed in a crimson colored long sleeved shirt, the sleeves pushed up past his elbows, and a pair of dark blue jeans (it shattered her theory that he did not even own a pair)._

 _Looking at him in the music store, she could not help admiring how perfectly his shirt outlined his strong form... or how the color suited him well._

 _Remembering where she was, she shook her head and cleared her throat. "There's nothing like a live performance," she stated, agreeing with his earlier statement and her mind immediately going to several instances she doubted she would ever be able to describe to him. Pulling out a second CD, she looked over them both and sighed. "Damn... which one...?" Thranduil turned his head back to her, noticing her internal debate, and he stepped over, glancing over her shoulder to see what she had in her hands._

 _"Why not both?" he asked, noticing neither were particularly high in price._

 _"Because I can't justify it," she sighed. "I'm behind on one of my credit cards..." Her voice trailed off and she turned the first CD over once more, reviewing its tracklist again. Reaching over her shoulder, Thranduil plucked the second case from her hand, and she raised an eyebrow. "What are you-"_

 _"It's no trouble," he replied, giving her a half smile._

 _"I know it's not," she said, turning around. "You don't have to."_

 _"Then may I want to?" he teased her and she rolled her eyes. Reaching forward, he snatched the second case from her hand and nodded towards the register. "Come on, we're already running late."_

 _"Hey!" she laughed, following him up, but as he drew out his wallet, she made no move to stop him, standing silently as he bought her CD's for her. Once the transaction was complete and they made their way back outside, he handed the bag to her, and she looked up to him with a raised eyebrow._

 _Before she could ask what had driven him to be so generous, he gave her a warm smile and said, "You worry about your bills, Kyli, and let me do something nice for a friend." She smiled faintly, a funny feeling beginning to stir in her chest, and she took the bag from him with a nod._

 _"As long as you let me get you back sometime," she replied. "I don't like being uneven."_

 _He nodded in understanding, pulling his keys out of his pocket as they made their way to his car. "Of course," he answered her._

* * *

"I'm so sorry about this..." Olivia apologized once more, stumbling her way to the front door, wrapped up in a blanket as Legolas walked slightly ahead of her, his bag over his shoulder. The weekend had gone by too quickly, and whatever bug Olivia had caught, it had not let up like she had hoped. Legolas had been nothing but attentive to her the entire time, but she felt guilty, knowing there were probably a million things he would have much rather done with his weekend. The worst of it was not feeling well enough to drive him back to campus and having to call him a cab. "Will you at least let me give you some money for cab fare?" she asked.

He turned to her, smiling sadly and his hand reached behind her, supporting the back of her head and drawing her in so that he could kiss her forehead. "Olivia," he murmured against her skin before drawing back and looking her in the eye. "All I want from you is for you to lie down and rest. I don't want to have to worry about you while I'm away and unable to take care of you..." A faint smile formed on Olivia's lips and she nodded in agreement.

"And please... see a doctor if this does not clear up soon," he added as he turned the doorknob. She nodded and let out a stifled chuckle.

"It won't be long before I'll only have to see you," she mused, and he smirked in amusement.

"I believe that's considered a conflict of interests..." he teased, his eyes wandering to her lips for a moment. Taking a step forward, he leaned in, kissing her tenderly and she tensed, wanting to push him away at first. She felt less than pleasant after vomiting so much that weekend, and she feared whatever she had was contagious. But the soft sight he released as his lips met hers crumbled her resolve, and she simply allowed herself to be a little selfish and enjoy it. He lingered for a few moments, then pulled away, moving his hand to tuck her hair behind her ear.

"You idiot..." Olivia groaned. "Now you're probably sick." Legolas chuckled and shook his head.

"Worth it," he replied, pulling the door open. "Get some rest, Liv."

* * *

 _The screen flickered before them, Kyli watching in amusement as the main characters made the always fatal mistake of deciding to split up. Sitting back in her seat, she shook her head, reaching over to the popcorn bag between them for another handful. She was not one to hate a bad horror movie, in fact she found them very entertaining the harder they failed. Her only regret was that she had to watch this one in a theater where she could not openly mock the screen without annoying those around her._

 _Sitting back in her seat, she let her arm drop on the armrest, stirring a bit when she realized it was already occupied. Thranduil's skin felt warm against hers, and though her immediate instinct was to pull back, she found herself hesitating. Her eyes wandered to him, noticing he had not stirred, nor had he seemed to notice, he simply sat with his eyes on the screen, popping a piece of popcorn into his mouth with his free hand._

 _Feeling brave, she lifted her pinkie, brushing it lightly over the side of his hand, watching him for a reaction. Thranduil's expression gave away no signs of even noticing, and she took that as a sign that whatever sensation was stirring in her chest, it was not reciprocated and there was no point in exploring it any further. She could not help feeling a little disappointed, but then, she had no idea why she would have hoped for any different._

 _As Kyli turned her eyes back to the screen, she felt his fingers stir beside her. His hand hovered over hers for a moment, hesitating, then gently came to rest over top of it._

* * *

"You look miserable, baby doll."

Kyli's eyes wandered up from her drink, her eyebrows raising as an unfamiliar voice called her from her thoughts. Though she had accepted the hunters' generous offer to stay under their watch for the night, the moment they were asleep -copious amounts of alcohol aiding the process-, she departed from them, preferring to find some place with a bed so that her hip would not hate her in the morning.

She was in an old and worn hotel/casino, set in the heart of a post-apocalyptic world that had once been not too different from her own. It was a place she had been many times before and though the point of her "vacation" was to explore new realms, with the pain in her hip growing worse than usual and her mood particularly sour, she felt it best to play it safe and settle somewhere she knew would have adequate lodging and a stiff drink. For once, she was not interested in wandering in search of those things.

"I've had a long day," she answered, looking up at the young man dressed in an old fashioned suit, staring down at her with a cocky half smile. "Can I help you?" she asked, her tone reflecting she was in no mood, the sounds of drunken gamblers around her beginning to give her a headache. Her apparent bad mood had no effect on the man before her, not seeming to dissuade him in the slightest.

"Well, I'd ask if I could buy you a drink... but it looks like you've still got half of one right there..."

Without a word, she quickly drained it, setting the empty glass down on the bar in front of her, and the man's grin spread a little more, hoping she was giving him a signal. Turning to the bartender, he ordered two more drinks, but as Kyli stood up from her seat, his smile vanished.

"Wait, where are you-"

She picked up her cane from where it hung off the edge of the bar, and shuffled her way past him, stopping for a moment to look at him. "Giving you a chance to have what I wanted... an opportunity to drink in peace." With that, she placed a tip on the bar and made her way to pay for a room for the night.

Once she was settled in a bedroom, she made sure the door was securely locked, climbing into the bed with a few pained grunts. If there was one thing she hated more than the pain of her injury, she hated how old it made her sound at times. She had not planned, at the age of 27, to already be many sounds of struggling just to get into bed.

Not bothering to even change into anything different, she grabbed one of the pillows, bringing it to rest between her knees for better support, and closed her eyes, willing herself into a restless slumber while the sounds of the late night gamblers faded into the background.

* * *

 _He had held her hand throughout the movie, but as soon as the lights brightened and they rose from their seats, he released her, and the entire drive, neither of them mentioned it... though he could tell she was still thinking about it as much as he was._

 _When the car came to a stop outside of her apartment building, he realized the hour was much later than usual, and though the main entrance to her apartment complex was hardly more than a few steps away, he found himself hesitating._

 _"Mind if I walk you to the door?" he asked, turning his head back to her. Kyli nodded her head, reaching to undo her seatbelt while he killed the engine, unbuckling as well and opening his door. She stepped around the car, holding the bag containing her new CD's in one hand, and he noticed the other falter. For a moment, it looked as though she intended to extend her hand to his, but she paused and tucked it in her jacket instead, seeming to think better of it._

 _She was silent as he walked alongside her, coming to a stop at her door and watching as she fished out her keys from her pocket. "Thanks again for the CD's," she said, holding the bag up briefly, and he nodded, smiling at her._

 _"You are most welcome, Kyli," he replied._

 _Kyli stared at him for a moment, wondering if they really were going to pretend nothing had happened in the theater. She was unsure if that was what he wanted. Reminding herself it only happened because she had been brave, she decided to try her luck once more and opened her arms slightly, initiating a hug. Whether he was that good at picking up her signal, or he was already going to do so, she did not really care. She only cared that he almost immediately stepped up to her, pulling her against him in a warm embrace._

 _She closed her eyes, his inviting scent filling her nostrils and his arms feeling so warm and strong around her. Standing there with him, she felt something deep inside her begin to settle, almost as if for a moment, she was grounded. Ever since the day she first disappeared on accident, Kyli had stopped feeling grounded, her mind and body almost always one daydream, one out of control emotion, or one relinquished moment of control away from falling into another world._

 _For the first time in years, she felt grounded and immovable._

 _Letting her guard down, she turned her head, the side of her face gently brushing his, and she felt him tense, but he did not let go. Feeling safe, she drew back and moved her face forward until her nose just barely brushed his, and she could feel his breath on her lips. She tilted her head upwards and leaned closer to close the gap._

 _When he drew back, her heart fell past her stomach._

 _She stood frozen, feeling like a fool and the instinct to retreat beginning to rear its ugly head. If he was not still holding on to her, she might have done just that. She waited patiently for him to release her, avoiding eye contact as her face turned red with embarrassment, and she felt him sigh against her._

 _"Kyli..." he murmured, his arms loosening their grip enough so he could rest his hands on her waist and step back a bit._

 _"I'm sorry," she muttered, still avoiding eye contact, but he leaned in, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Her spirits raised themselves a few inches as he lingered a few seconds, and when he drew back once more, she managed to look at him this time._

 _"I need time... Kyli," he explained softly._

 _"I'm sorry," she apologized again, but he shook his head, curling a finger under her chin._

 _"No, it's all right. Please, don't apologize." He offered her a sad smile, removing his hands from her as one of them reached to rub nervously at the back of his neck. "It's not that I don't... I just... I need time."_

 _"No, I get it," she said with a nod. Though the easiest guess would have been that it was too soon after the death of his wife for him to move on, Kyli knew he had begun dating again some time again, or at least attempting it. His past wife had nothing to do with it. It was the glaring age gap that she had thought, until that moment, he had been ignoring in the same way she was. They were both adults, and they got along so well, she had hoped..._

 _She forced a smile, suspecting he was now feeling as uncomfortable as she was and nodded her head again. "I'd better head in," she sighed, turning to the door to unlock it. Thranduil watched her until she had the door open and turned herself around to smile at him one more time. "Drive safe."_

 _"I will," he assured her, returning her smile. "Sleep well, Kyli."_


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 _Timing was everything, and though Kyli was rarely ever sick, she had not expected falling ill on a Friday to have the effect that it did. She and Thranduil had fallen into a routine of meeting up every morning at the same coffee house, conversing before parting ways to their respective jobs. However, Friday mornings were traditionally the days that they made their plans for the weekend: when they would meet up, what they would do, and all the other details. Usually it was just dinner plans, but the previous week had been the first time they had tried going to the movies._

 _After their awkward parting, Kyli half expected the same tone to carry on into the following Monday morning. However, when she found Thranduil at their usual table, she was quickly pleased to find that was not the case. The week carried on as if nothing had happened. That is until Friday morning arrived..._

 _Kyli awoke with her first fever in a long time and found herself needing to call out. Naturally, she was not there to greet Thranduil at the coffee house as she normally would have, and had she thought to text him before falling back to sleep, he probably would not have worried too much about her absence._

 _The uncomfortable manner in which their night at the movies had ended had been forgotten and ignored a little too easily, though Thranduil had been secretly wondering if it would eventually be brought up. Perhaps her absence was her way of avoiding the discomfort of making any plans for the weekend at all? Perhaps she was avoiding him? He tried to dismiss it at first, feeling she was entitled to her space. But a few hours of it eating at his mind wore down his resolve, and he sent her a quick text, hoping to make sure everything was all right._

 _When she did not reply after a few more hours, he began to worry._

 _Had he offended her? Did she feel she could not tell him? He tried not to over think it, but he could not stop his mind from circling those questions again and again. When it was nearing the end of his shift, he checked his phone once more. No new texts. No missed calls. Nothing. He frowned, his mind finally moving on to another possibility. Was she all right? Had something happened to her?_

 _When he finally finished up his paperwork, he gathered his things and dialed her number as he made his way out of his office door._

* * *

"Liv, I'm home!" Kyli called out, setting her bag down on the living room floor. From the room behind her, she could hear the toilet flushing, followed by the sink, and finally the door opening. When Kyli looked around to greet her, her brow furrowed when she saw how pale her sister looked. "Oh god, are you sick?" she asked, quickly walking up to her, but Olivia held a hand out to stop her.

"I thought it was a stomach bug, but it's not going away," she groaned. "I've been throwing up all week. I don't want you to catch it."

Kyli watched her nervously, trying to assess the severity of the situation. "Liv, you look bad. Have you eaten anything?"

"Can't keep anything down," she murmured, shaking her head. "And I've got a fever."

"Okay," Kyli sighed, turning to grab her keys from the wall. "C'mon, we're going to the doctor."

"You're driving?" Olivia asked hesitantly. There were at least one or two incidents that came to her memory, reminding her of why her sister was not the best choice for a driver.

"My pain meds are kicking in," Kyli assured her. "I'm grounded for the day at least. We're fine. Now come on."

Having no room to argue, Olivia nodded, heading into Kyli's room to change and tie her hair back so it would not hang around her in such a mess, and Kyli quickly dialed the number of their GP, knowing he usually had room for last minute appointments.

* * *

 _When the buzzer to her apartment door went off, Kyli lifted her head from the pillow, her brow furrowing. She reached across for her phone to check the time, only to discover she had forgotten to plug it into its charger and the battery had died some time ago. "Oops..." she murmured, reaching a little further for her alarm clock._

 _7:00 P.M._

 _Her eyes widened. She had slept the entire day away. "Goddammit!" she groaned, drawing the sheets back. Her first worry was that she would be up all night now, but as soon as she sat up, her head began to pound and she remembered why she had been in bed all day. She was sick._

 _The door buzzed again, and she slipped out of bed, shuffling her way to the buzzer, pressing the button and holding it to let whoever it was inside. She heard the main door open and she let go of the button, moving to her apartment door to unlock it. At first she could only hear the footsteps on the stairs, but when Thranduil stepped into view, her brow furrowed once more. She had not expected to see him._

" _Kyli," he greeted, walking up to her door, and she responded with a weary smile. "I'm sorry to bother you... I tried to reach you, and when I couldn't..." He seemed to just then notice her appearance and a look of realization came over him. "You were sick..." he sighed, a hint of guilt in his tone as he began to worry that he may have disrupted her rest. "I am... so sorry. I should have assumed..."_

" _No, it's not your fault," Kyli replied, trying to hide how touched she felt that he had actually worried over her. "I should have told you I wasn't coming today. And I forgot to charge my phone, so it died at some point..." She couldn't help an amused smile._

" _No, don't apologize," Thranduil muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's not as though you owe it to me to tell me these things..." He smiled awkwardly and shrugged. "You'll have to forgive me. I supposed I get a little more paranoid than I realize sometimes. This... probably looks a little odd. My being here, I mean."_

 _Kyli shook her head and waved it off. "I've never had someone check up on me before because I didn't show up for coffee like I usually do," she replied. "It's... actually kind of sweet." His smile spread a little, and she glanced over her shoulder, into the apartment behind her, and sighed. "I'd invite you in, but I might be contagious. It's just a nasty head cold. Lots of coughing..."_

" _Any fever?" he asked, moving as if he meant to press his hand against her forehead, but stopping himself as he was unsure of that was appropriate._

" _On and off. I haven't checked my temperature in hours though. I slept through most of today."_

 _He raised his hand a few inches and paused. "May I?" She nodded her head and he reached out, pressing his palm against her forehead. At the touch, Kyli felt a calming warmth begin to spread through her skin, and though she knew he did not need to keep his hand there more than a few seconds, she appreciated that he seemed to linger anyway._

" _Have you been making sure to drink enough" he asked, his hand still on her forehead._

" _I've been sleeping most of today. Haven't really had much to drink or eat."_

" _You're very warm," he said softly, drawing his hand back. He watched her for a moment, contemplating something, then asked in a lower voice, "Would you care for a little company?"_

 _Kyli's brow raised. "Is this really how you want to spend your Friday night? I might get you sick."_

 _He chuckled softly, shaking his head. "I'm not exactly much of a weekend party animal, and I'm not at all worried about becoming sick either." Kyli considered him for a moment, the corner of her mouth curving upwards, and she stepped aside, pulling the door open to welcome him inside._

* * *

Kyli looked up from her magazine when she finally saw her sister step out from behind the main doors, paperwork from the doctor in her hands. Olivia's expression was unreadable as Kyli was unsure how much of it was simply from feeling sick, but there seemed to be no hint of there being horribly bad news. While Olivia took care of getting herself checked out at the counter, Kyli worked on getting herself to her feet, grunting as she put weight on her hip again. The ache only served as a reminder that she needed to visit the doctor again soon. The pain medication she was taking was only barely doing the trick anymore. It was nearing time to request something stronger.

Olivia only took a few more minutes before she finally made her way up to Kyli, looking up at her with a groggy expression. "It's just a stomach virus," she spoke before Kyli could ask. "I need you to take me to the pharmacy. I've got a prescription waiting there."

"They prescribed something for a virus?" Kyli asked in surprise.

"It's just some anti-nausea medication. So I can eat," Olivia answered.

"The one in the grocery store?" Kyli clarified, already moving for the door.

"That's the one," she answered, hugging herself as she walked, following her outside and to her car. The drive there was quiet, Olivia sitting with her head resting against the window and her eyes closed, trying to avoid watching the moving world around her as it only upset her stomach further. When they reached the store, Kyli walked with her to the pharmacy department, noticing there was a line and frowning.

"Do you have your insurance card and everything?" she asked, and Olivia nodded, patting at her wallet which was tucked away in her pocket. "Okay, well I need to restock my fridge, so I'm going to shop around a bit and meet you back here, okay?"

Olivia nodded, a little to eager to be left alone. "I'll be here," she replied, and as Kyli headed off, she got in line, barely paying attention to any of the people ahead of her. By the time she made it to the counter, the pharmacist could only warn her it would be another twenty minutes before her prescription was ready.

"Feel free to wait in one of those seats, and we'll call you up once it's ready," she informed her with a smile. Olivia simply nodded, then turned to find a spot.

When she saw him, she froze, her eyes widening a bit. Thranduil looked back at her, his expression almost identical. For a moment, Olivia debated on wandering the store for twenty minutes instead, but she knew she was not physically up to it. Her eyes wandered down a few seats, and she took the furthest available one from him, making a point of not looking in his direction while she waited.

 _This isn't happening... this isn't happening..._ her mind kept repeating over and over again. The day had been going from bad to worse, and finding herself stuck in that situation with him, of all people, was almost the final straw. While she had never exactly been at risk of running into him after his relationship with her sister ended, her hidden relationship with Legolas made her avoid Thranduil like the plague.

Now, after the news she'd received at the doctor's, this was the absolute last place she wanted to be.

It was not a stomach virus, and a part of her had suspected that from the moment her nausea had refused to let up. The test at the doctor's only confirmed her suspicion. _How am I going to tell Legolas? What are we going to do?_ She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, trying to will herself to remain calm. Kyli was so much better at controlling her emotions, and Olivia often envied her for it, but she pushed herself to stay calm anyway. She did not want to draw any attention on herself. Especially not from him.

From where he sat, Thranduil turned his head to glance at Olivia, making certain it was quick enough for her to not notice. But when he saw her, he found her eyes were closed, so it did not really matter. He couldn't help noticing how pale she was and how worry seemed to paint her every feature. Whatever was wrong with her, it looked like it might be serious. And she was clearly afraid.

For a brief moment, he almost spoke up, wanting to inquire if she was all right. No matter what bad blood remained between himself and Kyli, it did not stop him from feeling bad at the sight of Olivia in that position by herself. He opened his mouth, but shut it again. Even if he did inquire, he knew there was almost nothing he could do to help her. And it was none of his business.

He kept his eyes forward, resuming his wait for his prescription in silence.

* * *

 _The glow of the TV was comforting to Kyli as she sat on the sofa, wrapped up in her favorite blanket while sipping at a glass of water in her hands. Thranduil sat beside her, his arm stretched out over the back of the sofa, chuckling every time the panel on QI said anything amusing._

" _I've never seen this show before," he remarked, a smile on his face. "You were right. I do like this."_

" _I knew you would," Kyli said with a half smile. "Not enough people around here know about it. I love useless information, so this show is like crack to me."_

" _...a rather dark comparison, but I understand what you're saying," he mused, turning his eyes to her. "How are you feeling?"_

" _Like I slept and coughed all day," she answered in a hoarse tone, coughing again as if on queue. "But at least I'm not burning up or freezing," she added, finishing the water in her glass. She licked her lips, appreciating how soothing the cool liquid felt on her raw throat, and sighed. "I'm sorry I'm not being much of a host right now..." she murmured, but he shook his head, taking her empty glass from her and rising from the couch._

" _Think nothing of it," he replied as he headed into the kitchen to refill it. "I am always happy to help a friend. Even a sick one." She smiled faintly, sitting back against the sofa and waiting quietly for him to return. "I hope you at least have the weekend off," he commented, handing the freshly filled glass to her before sitting back down. "In case you are not well by tomorrow."_

" _I do, but I really hope I'm not spending it sick." She gave a hoarse chuckle and took another sip._

" _In any case, you should take it easy. Your body will need to recover and overworking it will not help."_

 _She smirked, her eyes on the screen. "You make it painfully obvious that you're a dad sometimes," she teased, and her smile grew a little when she heard him chuckle softly. "I'm glad you're here though... I just hope I haven't infected you."_

 _He shook his head, turning his eyes to her. "I'm not worried about that," he answered, repeating his statement from before. "I'd even be willing to keep you company tomorrow if you would like that." She turned her head to meet his gaze, raising an eyebrow at him._

" _You're offering to keep me company while I'm sick?" she asked. "You'd rather spend your weekend doing that?" He looked as though he did not know how to immediately answer her, and she adjusted her position so that her body was facing him more fully. "I know that you said you need time, but I need answers. Are we... What are we?"_

 _He took in her words silently, and when she finished, he turned himself a bit in his seat to better face her. "What would you like us to be, Kyli?"_

 _She sighed, hesitant to just say it, even though it was obvious. Even at 25, she still found herself embarrassingly shy about being this open with her feelings. Then again, this was the first time she'd ever needed to be. She remembered the nudging he'd given her not so long ago, so she ignored her doubts just long enough to speak honestly._

" _I want more," she answered. "I don't want to be just a friend."_

 _His eyes lowered a little, his lips pursing, and his hand reached over to gently take hers. "You're not," he murmured. Her heart lifted a little, but she tried to push it down, not wanting to get herself excited if this was only going to end like the previous week._

" _Then what am I?" she asked, still needing a definite answer before she could allow herself to feel anything._

 _Thranduil's eyes met her gaze once more and his hand released hers as he raised it to rest against the side of her face. He took a slow breath, then leaned forward, pressing his lips against hers. Kyli's eyes fell shut as her heart began to race. She sat frozen, part of her too excited to move, the other part afraid that if she did, he would recoil like he had the last time she had attempted to kiss him. His kiss lingered on her lips for a few moments, then he drew back his eyes still closed and his hand remaining on her cheek._

" _You are not just a friend to me, Kyli," he whispered, resting his forehead against hers. "I am ready for more as well."_

 _There were a million things she could have said, a million thoughts that seemed appropriate, and yet the first words out of her mouth were, "You idiot..." His eyes opened and she giggled as she leaned back to look at him. "You're probably sick now."_

 _He snorted, unable to help it, and leaned in, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I am willing to take that chance," he replied._

* * *

The line had dwindled to nearly nothing, and soon there was no one left waiting but the two of them. Olivia secretly hoped the pharmacist would hurry, knowing her sister would be back soon. As uncomfortable as she felt, putting in an effort not to look at Thranduil though she knew she'd felt his eyes on her a few times, she knew it would be much worse if Kyli saw him.

"Miss Parker?" called a voice, and she looked up, seeing the lady wave her over with a polite smile. Rising from her seat, she made her way up, frowning as she saw another pharmacist step up to the adjoining register, signalling Thranduil up as well. He was standing right in her peripheral vision, but he seemed as determined as she was to avoid eye contact. _Just hurry up and get this over with..._ she silently urged as the pharmacist assisting her began to ring her up. The woman paused when she saw her screen and frowned a little.

"Okay, Olivia... you are aware your insurance does not cover prescriptions?" she asked.

Olivia felt her stomach turn. "Uh... no. How much is it going to be?" It was only a prescription for anti-nausea medication. How bad could it possibly be?

"$250," she answered. Olivia's jaw dropped.

"What?!" she cried. _This isn't happening... this isn't happening..._ "I can't... are you serious?!" The woman could only nod, and Olivia felt her eyes filling with tears. The day was growing into one nightmare after another.

"Would you like us to only fill half the prescription? It would cut the price down to $125 and leave you with at least half a month's supply..."

"I still can't afford that," her voice broke. She rubbed her hand over her mouth, taking a slow breath as she tried to process everything, and shook her head. "I'll get a hold of my doctor... see if they can prescribe an alternative. Dammit..."

Just as she began to turn to leave, from the corner of her eye, she saw Thranduil slide over to face the cashier, handing her his credit card. "I've got it," he said softly. "Ring up the full prescription." He waited for the cashier to take his card before glancing down at Olivia.

"No," she quickly objected. "I don't... I can't... I..." _This isn't happening... this isn't happening..._

But Thranduil looked up at the cashier and nodded to her, silently permitting her to continue ringing it up. "You can pay me back when you can afford it," he said, moving past her to sign the receipt. The pharmacist handed her the bag, and Olivia took it, brushing the tears from her face and forcing her voice to remain steady enough to say a quick "thank you," to the pharmacist.

Thranduil pursed his lips, watching as she struggled to look up at him, and again, he took in her pale complexion as well as the dark circles under her eyes. "Are you here alone?" he inquired, part of him worried she had driven there in that state.

Before she could answer, a voice called to her, making him tense before looking past her to see its owner.

"Liv," Kyli called again, though her eyes were on Thranduil. "Liv, are you ready?" She made no move to step any closer, and Olivia turned to her.

"Yeah," she answered, knowing it was obvious she had been crying, which meant that Kyli would pry. _Great..._ she thought grimly. Looking back to Thranduil, she quickly whispered, "Thank you," then turned back to her sister, gripping the bag tightly as she caught up with her. Not wanting to watch what would happen, Olivia went ahead, moving towards the exit, but Kyli lingered, making eye contact with Thranduil briefly before looking down. Even after all this time, she still did not know what to say to him.

He took a slow breath, nodding silently, then turned to leave, walking away without a word.

As soon as she noticed Kyli had fallen behind, Olivia quickly pulled out her phone, typing a short text to Legolas:

 _I need to see you tonight. It's an emergency._


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Is everything all right?" Thranduil asked as Legolas shuffled his way to the pot of coffee waiting for him. It had been two days since his son had returned home from graduation, having a month before his residency was to officially begin. Though he had claimed otherwise, Thranduil could sense something was bothering him.

Even as he asked, there seemed to be a weight on his son's shoulders, but Legolas still shook his head, turning to face him with a full mug in hand. "Yes, Father. Just like it was yesterday. And the day before that." His tone was short and he paused to take a sip. "Why do you still ask?"

Thranduil pursed his lips. It was not like Legolas to keep secrets. "You hardly seemed excited to graduate, and you've hardly spoken since. Lately you seem… preoccupied."

Legolas hid his expression with another drink of coffee, and leaned back against the counter. "I suppose I'm still recovering," he answered, stuffing a hand into the pocket of his pajama pants. "Finals were rough this semester. I barely had time to sleep from all the late nights of studying."

"That would explain the decline in your GPA…" Thranduil replied, failing to think beforehand that now may not have been the best time to bring that up.

"I graduated with a GPA of 3.5," Legolas bit back, very visibly irked by his father's statement.

"And I am very proud of you, Legolas. That is not by any means an easy accomplishment," Thranduil responded quickly, not wanting to give his son the wrong impression. He thought over his words a bit first before elaborating his concern. "But you were so close to a 4.0 and yet by the end of the sesmester it dropped. I only wondered if the decline was due to difficult finals, or something else."

"The last finals were hard," Legolas answered, cutting him off before he could say any more. "I did the best I could and put in as much effort as I was able. I am not disappointed with the results."

"Nor am I. You have every right to be proud of yourself, Legolas. I never meant to imply otherwise." Legolas nodded his head and took another drink, moving to leave the kitchen as he desired to be alone for a while.

"If you are free tonight… perhaps we could meet for dinner later?" Thranduil offered.

Legolas paused, feeling guilty as he shook his head. "I've gotten in touch with some old friends. We were going to meet up tonight." He turned to face his father, offering him an apologetic expression. "Perhaps tomorrow night?"

Thranduil nodded silently. "Of course. Tomorrow should be fine."

 _When the store phone rang, Kyli was barely able to drag herself to it, picking it up and answering with exhaustion in her voice. "Hello?" Given that it was well past closing, she did not bother with the proper store greeting._

 _"You sound like you're about to die," her manager joked on the other end._

 _"I feel like it," she yawned, shaking her head. "Only three cases left, and then I'm done."_

 _"With the shipment from yesterday?" he asked._

 _"And the one from this morning. I'm almost done with both of them. Priced and sorted onto carts. They'll only need to be shelved in the morning."_

 _"That's great! That'll be one less thing we'll need to worry about at opening. Good job."_

 _"Thanks," Kyli yawned again, leaning against the wall. "I should be done in about an hour. After some more coffee anyway."_

 _"Well just don't overdo it. I don't want to have to worry about you falling asleep on the drive home and getting into an accident."_

 _She smiled, scratching at the back of her head for a moment and glancing out the window. "Actually I've already got a ride coming to get me."_

 _"Good, then. That's good. I'll let you go so you can finish up. Thanks again, Kyli."_

 _"Yup." She hung up, turning her eyes to the last three boxes and yawned again. "All right, let's do this…"_

 _True to her word, it only took an hour more, though it felt much longer. When she was done, pulled out her phone and dialed Thranduil's number. By the way he answered, she could tell he must have dozed off while waiting to hear from her. It had been a few weeks since the night she'd been sick. In that time she found herself with an unexpected promotion, and while it was an exciting step forward, it also took up more of her free time than she would have liked. All the extra hours of training and transitioning herself into the position made it difficult for the two of them to find time to spend together._

 _However, they found ways. Even if it was something as simple as providing her with a ride home so she would not have to drive while sleep deprived._

 _"Hey," she said softly into the phone, her voice quiet, in a conscious effort to be mindful of the fact that he'd most likely just woken up. "I just finished."_

 _There was a yawn on the other end, followed by stirring, and Thranduil cleared his throat. "All right. I'll be there in a few minutes."_

 _"Thanks. I'll be waiting out front."_

* * *

"Are we still meeting tonight?" Legolas asked in a low voice, shutting the door to his bedroom as he held the phone to his ear.

"I just checked with Kyli. She has a late physical therapy session, but she'll be home by seven. I already told her I'm coming over." Olivia paused, staring out the window of her bedroom. "This is probably going to get ugly. She's usually in a lot of pain after therapy…"

"I'll be there with you, Liv," he assured her. "The sooner we get this done, the better. Once your sister knows, if we can persuade her to help us, it will make it less of a blow to my father. And we're going to need all the support we can get."

"The crazy thing is, I'm more scared about telling the two of them than I am of telling my parents," Olivia muttered.

"Well then that seems to fit well with me because I'm terrified of telling your parents," he replied grimly. Wanting to focus on something other than their respective parents, he asked, "How are you feeling, by the way?"

"The pills are helping… I've been able to eat actual meals, finally. Still kind of nauseous, but I think that might just be nerves." She chewed on her lower lip for a minute as something surfaced in her memory. "Speaking of pills, I owe your father $250 still."

"I'll give you some money tonight. You can pay him off in the morning." As he said it, he found himself silently praying his father never found out what he had actually paid for. If he had known that day that he was buying pills to help treat Olivia's morning sickness from carrying his grandchild… "Once you and I are married, I'll be able to get you onto my insurance so you'll never have to worry about that again."

Olivia swallowed hard, her eyes lowering. "Yeah. That'll be… it'll be great not to have to worry about that anymore."

Legolas caught her hesitation and frowned. "I know it's sooner than we planned… but it will be for the better. Knowing that we're already planning on being married will make my father more willing to support us. It'll show him we're being responsible."

"I know. It's just all happening so fast," she sighed. "I can barely process all of this at once. I'm feeling overwhelmed over here."

"I know… I know, Liv. It's going to be all right." He shifted his back against the wall, running his fingers through his hair, when he heard the sounds of his father climbing the stairs, making his way to his own bedroom. Wanting to play it safe, Legolas moved to the opposite end of the room, lowering his voice a little more, not that his father would have been one to eavesdrop. "Why don't I take you out to lunch before we meet with Kyli? See if I can help ease your mind a bit about things?"

Olivia smiled and nodded her head. "Lunch sounds great."

* * *

 _Kyli could sense he was as tired as she was, but it did not stop Thranduil from offering to walk her to the door. A simple walk to the main entrance, however, turned into a walk to the actual door to her apartment. And once they reached that door, it turned into a walk to the door that led to her bedroom._

 _Even though Kyli would have welcomed more, despite her exhausted state, they did but sleep, Thranduil's arm draped lazily over her waist while she lay curled up against him._

 _Sleep was almost always her one safe haven. There were nights when she was too emotional and knew she would need additional grounding, like the sounds of a TV or radio as some form of background noise to keep her from falling too deeply into sleep. Otherwise there was no guarantee where she would wake up. However, Thranduil's presence pushed any such concerns from her mind. Though she still did not understand it, she felt safe even in the limp grasp of his arm wrapped around her._

 _That is, until he rolled over in his sleep…_

 _The growing inadequacy of her blanket was the first thing to begin to draw her out of sleep, and her brow furrowed to the tickling feel of blades of grass against her nose Her eyes snapped open and she lifted her head, feeling the sun on her face, the hard ground beneath her, and as she looked down, she found a worn, unfamiliar blanket was draped over her._

 _"You will have to forgive me," came a voice from behind her. "I would have moved you this time, but I'm afraid my back is not what it used to be, and you were sleeping very soundly." She jumped and rolled over, holding the blanket up, almost defensively, as her eyes met with the amused smile of an elderly farmer, dressed similarly to a medieval peasant. She recognized the old barn behind him and the vast fields of grain surrounding him for miles. But more importantly, she recognized him._

 _This was not the first time she had turned up on his lawn._

 _Thoroughly startled awake, she closed her eyes and forced herself back home, feeling the carpet of her living room once again beneath her in the time it would take to blink. When she opened her eyes, her heart was pounding and she clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle out her heavy breathing. Her eyes wandered to the partially opened bedroom door and she leaned over a bit, trying to see if he was still asleep._

 _"Oh please still be asleep…" she mouthed silently._

* * *

"Mr. Oropherion?"

Thranduil looked up from his desk, turning around to see his personal assistant standing in the doorway of his study.

"Yes, Jude?" he asked, setting his pen down.

"There's a gentleman on hold for you from the credit card company."

Thranduil's brow furrowed for a moment, knowing he could not possibly have gone over his limit, nor could he have been late on his payments. Then he recalled the extra expense at the pharmacy and nodded. "Thank you, Jude. I'll take it in here." He reached over to the cordless phone on his desk and picked it up, waiting for Jude to leave before picking up the line on hold. As the operator on the other end spoke, Thranduil was quickly able to determine Olivia's prescription was exactly what had sent up the flag and explained that he had in fact made that charge. Given that he was very consistent about his purchases and seldom used that card to begin with, a sudden charge of $250 was more than enough reason for them to suspect possible theft.

"If I may ask, can you remind me of what that purchase was exactly?" he asked. The image of Olivia, sickly and miserable, had still not fully left his mind, and though it was none of his business he could not help his curiosity. He could hear the sounds of the operator typing on the other end as they brought it up.

"Let's see… it says here you spent $250 on a prescription for Zofran." He did not recognize the name, but reaching for a pen, he wrote it down on a scrap of paper. "It should all be summarized in your next statement."

"Thank you. And thank you for calling. I appreciate the concern."

"Anytime, Mr. Oropherion. Have a great rest of your day!"

"And you do the same. Thank you." He hung up the phone and stared at the scrap of paper for a moment. "Zofran…" he read aloud. He would have to look it up later. As he sat back in his chair, his mind went to Legolas once more, his lips pressing into a thin line as it did. He was certain there was something his son was keeping from him, though he did not know what, and it worried him. He had always done his best to provide his son with an environment in which he felt safe to be honest with him and approach him about anything.

He sighed to himself. Legolas was a grown man now and under no obligation to divulge every detail of his life. He was entitled to some secrets. Still, it was hard for Thranduil to be accepting of that. He never handled secrets well.

Especially not after Kyli.

* * *

 _Thranduil opened his eyes, his internal alarm telling him it was time for him to get up if he wanted to be ready for work on time. Being his own boss, he could arrive whenever he wished, but he always tried to make a point of being in at nine o'clock sharp. When he turned his head to look at the space beside him, he found it empty and his brow furrowed. Had Kyli slipped out without waking him?_

 _He sat up slowly, looking around the empty bedroom. "Kyli?" Drawing back the sheets, he rose to his feet, stretching lazily as he wandered out to look for her. "Kyli…" When he stepped into the living room, he found her, sitting on the floor in the middle of the living room with a startled expression on her face. In her hands was a worn and faded blanket and she looked as though he had just walked in on something he was not supposed to see. Though, given the his only context of the situation, he could not imagine what that was._

 _"I didn't hear you get up," he yawned, looking her over. "What are you doing out here?"_

 _Kyli looked down at herself, too relieved from the knowledge that he had not seen to think of an immediate excuse, so she said the first plausible one that came to her mind. "I was about to settle down and watch some TV. I couldn't sleep." With the blanket in her hands and the couch not far from her, it actually wasn't a bad excuse, though the floor still seemed an odd place to be. Softening her expression, she continued. "I'm sorry if I woke you. I was trying not to."_

 _Thranduil regarded her for a few moments, still seeming somewhat puzzled, but as she had not given him any real reason to doubt her, he put it from his mind and approached her instead. With a grunt, he lowered himself to the floor beside her and leaned over, pressing a kiss to her temple. "You seemed to be sleeping when I dozed off," he noted, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear. "I guess I was wrong."_

 _Kyli frowned, feeling a twinge of guilt from lying to him, and it made her uneasy. Lying about her ability was just a natural part of her life. She needed to lie. She couldn't imagine even trying to attempt to explain what she could do to anyone. And while she knew there was no easy way to tell him why she really was in the living room, she still felt guilty for not doing so. What made it even more strange was the fact that up until that moment, she had never felt remorse for lying about herself._

 _In any case, she did her best to ignore it as she leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Sorry if I woke you," she repeated._

 _"No…" he murmured, kissing the corner of her mouth. "It was actually time for me to get up. I still have to head back home to get ready for work."_

 _"Ugh… work…" she groaned and he chuckled, kissing her lips this time._

 _"You should get back in bed," he whispered. "You need your rest."_

 _"An empty bed…"_

 _He smiled back at her, curling a finger under her chin. "Perhaps I can remedy that after my shift…" he offered, his tone lowering as it grew more suggestive. Kyli's lips curved upwards._

 _"I like the sounds of that," she muttered, stealing another kiss._

 _"Then perhaps I'll drop by after work," he sighed happily, stroking her cheek._

 _Rising to his feet, he extended a hand to Kyli, helping her up as well, and with a nod, she walked him to the door. It took them both one more slow and tender kiss before they were finally able to part, and as Kyli shut the door behind him, she grinned to herself, her earlier guilt forgotten._

* * *

"It's open!" Kyli called when she heard the knock on her door. She would have opened it herself, but her hip was still aching from therapy and her pain medication had barely begun to dull it. The door to her apartment opened slowly, but Olivia still hesitated from where she stood. She had already recited and planned out everything she needed to say, even gone over it with Legolas barely an hour prior, yet she still hesitated.

Behind her, Legolas placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "I'm right here," he reminded her, and she nodded, taking his hand in hers and leading him inside. As soon as they stepped into view, Kyli looked up from the book in her lap, her brow furrowing with confusion when she saw Legolas.

"Liv…?" she asked warily, her eyes wandering to their linked hands. "What's going on?"

Olivia bit her lip but when Legolas squeezed her hand, she found her voice. "We need your help."


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 _"What do you know about his son, anyways?" Olivia asked as she tossed the salad._

 _Kyli pulled open the door to the oven, checking the lasagna inside as she spoke. "He's a few years younger than me... and I think Thranduil said he's studying medicine? I can't remember." Seeing that there was still a few minutes left of baking needed, she closed the oven and looked around her kitchen, trying to decide if there was more she could be doing._

 _"You look so nervous," Olivia joked, shaking her head._

 _"I'm about to meet the son of the man I'm dating... and he's nearly my age," Kyli muttered. "I can't possibly imagine why I'd be nervous."_

 _Olivia smirked, still seeming to think her sister had no reason to be so worried. "Will you relax? I'm sure it'll be fine."_

 _Kyli sighed, turning to her sister with a determined look. "Liv, I mean it tonight. Please... be good. If his son doesn't like me, that's it. There's no way he'll stay with me. So please! I need your help with this tonight."_

 _"Kyli, I've got this," Olivia assured her. "C'mon. It's me. I'm not going to make you look bad." She continued to toss the salad, seeing her sister's nervous expression as she continued to look around, and teasingly, she asked, "So... is his son hot?"_

 _Kyli snapped around, glaring at Olivia._

 _"Your face!" Olivia laughed, her eyes bright with amusement._

 _"Not funny," Kyli warned here, walking past to untie her apron and hang it up. "Not funny." As she slipped the neck loop over the hook on her wall, the buzzer went off, and she jumped, turning her eyes to the door._

 _With a grin, and managing her best Mary Anne voice, Olivia crooned, "They're heeere..."_

* * *

Olivia and Legolas had expected that a number of things would be said -or possibly shouted- at them, but the silence they received instead was almost worse. The two of them sat at the opposite end of the table, Legolas' hand never once letting go of Olivia's, and Kyli's eyes seemed focused on it. Neither of them were sure of what she was thinking.

"I know this is a lot to handle at once," Legolas finally spoke up. Kyli's eyes wandered up from their hands to meet his gaze as he continued. "This was not how we wanted to come forward. But-"

"Can you... please not talk right now?" she interrupted, staring him down. Legolas slowly closed his mouth and sat back while she turned her focus on her sister. Olivia showed no signs of intimidation. She was used to her sister and was already expecting an argument to surface at any moment. "How long has this been going on, Liv?" Kyli asked in a quiet voice.

Olivia felt Legolas' thumb gently brush over her hand before she answered. "Since before Thranduil ended things with you. Maybe... three months before you?"

Legolas' brow furrowed, looking to Olivia as something she said seemed to confuse him. "My father ended it? He never mentioned-"

"Stop talking," Kyli cut him off again, this time giving him a warning glare. His eyes lowered and Kyli's expression softened. Even in her state of mind, she knew taking any unresolved anger out on the wrong person would solve nothing. "Sorry," she muttered. "I'm just... I still need to process this. So please, just don't talk right now." Legolas nodded silently and Kyli turned her attention back to Olivia.

"Were you ever going to tell us that you two were dating? Assuming you hadn't gotten pregnant?"

Olivia nodded. "Last year, when you guys broke up... Legolas had a break coming up from his classes. We were going to tell you then. But then we heard the news and..." Her voice wandered off and she shrugged helplessly. "It's not like we could just come forward immediately after that. We figured the last thing either of you wanted was a reason our families had to stay in touch."

"That hasn't changed," Kyli muttered, a hint of bitterness still in her tone. Another moment of silence crept between them, Kyli still struggling to come to grips with the thought of Olivia and Legolas about to bring a child into the world. It was not that she doubted either of them would make a loving, responsible parent. It was simply the thought that it was the two of them. How had Olivia managed to keep this hidden? As far as she knew, her sister was a horrible liar. Apparently she had been wrong.

"You said you needed my help," Kyli spoke at last, her voice low. "What did you mean by that?"

Olivia and Legolas exchanged glances, and Olivia cleared her throat. "We need help breaking this to Thranduil." The look Kyli gave her in return was a mixture of confusion and irritation.

"I'm not telling him for you," she stated flatly. "You're both adults. This is your mess."

"It's not that simple," Legolas dared to speak up, not caring anymore if Kyli had anything to say about it. "When we come forward to my father, we'll be confessing to him that we not only lied to him for well over a year, but that we're now expecting a child out of wedlock. He will be furious." Kyli opened her mouth to rebuttal, but did not manage to do so before Legolas added, "...possibly enough to cut me off."

Her mouth closed and her eyes lowered. As little as she wanted to care about Legolas' plight, she could not ignore the impact that would mean for Olivia as well. If they were both planning on raising a child together, they would need as much support, both financially and emotionally, as they could get. They would need Thranduil's support.

"I still don't understand what you want me to do about that," she spoke up, addressing them both now. "If you think the news is going to go over any better if it comes from me..."

"No," Olivia replied. "No, we'll tell him ourselves. But we need your help before we do."

Kyli met her gaze. "I'm listening."

There was clear hesitation, but Olivia still managed to say it. "We want to get married." Kyli's eyes widened, disapproval radiating in her expression, but Olivia continued. "We were already talking about our future together before this. But now that there's a baby on the way... it kind of means we have to speed things up."

Kyli blinked several times, hardly believing what she was hearing. "Getting married at the last minute _just_ because you got pregnant is a bad idea, Liv! Are you out of your mind?!" Olivia lowered her eyes while Legolas clearly appeared to disagree. Kyli ignored him as she continued to press her sister. "What about college? You were set to transfer this semester!"

"I'll have to put it off for a little while," she answered. "Once Legolas finishes his residency, we'll be able to afford childcare, and then I can go back and finish. In the meantime, this makes sense. I'll be on his health insurance, and we'll be bringing a child into a stable environment."

"Oh college students who lie and don't know how to use birth control. That's real stable."

Olivia's head snapped back up to her sister as she glared. "For your information, I was on birth control. We were being careful and responsible. You think I was dumb enough to just go in there with no protection and hope for the best? Give me some credit! And for the record, we wouldn't have had to lie if _you_ hadn't fucked everything up in the first place and made it impossible for us to be honest!" Kyli's gaze grew dark, but Legolas' voice interrupted their impending argument.

"Enough!" he ordered as Kyli opened her mouth to argue back. Both she and her sister turned their glares towards him as he tried to get the conversation back on track. "Kyli, I'm sorry that there are still hurt feelings and resentment where my father's concerned, but it's been a year. Clinging to old wounds will not solve anything." Before Kyli could argue he turned his eyes to Olivia, making a point of adding, "Nor will reopening them."

Olivia lowered her eyes, seeming somewhat ashamed of the punch she had pulled, and Kyli closed her mouth, her temper simply paused for the moment. They allowed a few seconds of silence to pass before Legolas attempted to bring the conversation back once more.

"We plan to be married before the end of the first trimester. My father will be pleased that we are at least making an effort to handle this responsibly by making ourselves an official family before welcoming in a child. But in order to ensure his blessing... we need you to try and make amends." It was clear the protest that was about to come out of Kyli's mouth, but Olivia cut her off.

"You're the biggest reason we're afraid to tell him. Knowing that he'll have to associate with you again is probably going to make him about as happy as you are now." She swallowed hard, her hand rubbing absentmindedly over her stomach. "It'll most likely be his biggest concern. If we can eliminate it now, it may make our situation an easier pill to swallow."

Kyli was quiet for a moment, still calming herself from earlier. When she spoke, her voice was level. "Liv, I don't think there's any way that can happen," she argued. "The breakup was bad. We burned bridges. We haven't even spoken to each other once since it ended." It was true. She hardly even looked at him once the morning she pulled out of driveway with a moving truck following close behind.

"My father is very stubborn, but even he can see to reason," Legolas offered. "Even a sincere apology may help to-"

"Apology?"

Olivia let go of Legolas' hand and fell back in her chair with a roll of her eyes. Whether it was at Legolas' poor choice of words or Kyli's reaction, neither of them were sure. "Legolas, can you wait outside?" she asked. He turned his head to Olivia in surprise, but she insisted with a sharp, "Please."

He pursed his lips, then rose with a heavy sigh, pressing a kiss to Olivia's temple before muttering, "I'll go wait by the car."

As soon as he was gone, Kyli met Olivia with a glare. "I am not apologizing."

"Would it kill you to?" Olivia bit back. "It's not like you don't owe him one."

"He gave up on me. He's the one who walked away. Not me."

Olivia grit her teeth, annoyed that even after all this time, Kyli still refused to accept her fault in their failed relationship. Not wanting to argue the logistics of it, she pressed, "Then find a way to forgive him. Or swallow your pride and apologize. I really don't care what you have to do at this point, but we need you to do it."

Kyli's brow furrowed. "Whose side are you on, anyway?"

"This has nothing to do with sides!" Olivia cried, losing her temper. "Christ, Kyli! We're about to become a family. _All_ of us. There can't be sides, don't you get that? We're supposed to support each other and know that we can rely on each other to be there even when things get hard. Or are you so far gone already that you've forgotten how any of that works?" She stopped herself too late. The words were out, and judging by the way her sister recoiled, they hurt about as bad as she expected.

If there was one sensitive topic to Kyli, it was the way her traveling deteriorated her ability to form any sort of human connection. It was a side effect that grew increasingly worse with time, and one Kyli hated to have brought. It was the one thing the gave any hint that she felt any remorse for what her choices were turning her into. But even worse, it shifted all of the blame to her for every failed relationship, friendship, or acquaintance in her life. Despite her increasing apathy towards that particular drawback, it was still a sore spot that Olivia knew would hurt if prodded even slightly.

"Kyli..." she muttered, lowering her eyes. "Kyli, I-"

Kyli did not let her finish. She rose from her seat, picking up her cane from the edge of the table it hung from, and she moved as quickly as she was able past Olivia and into her bedroom, shutting and locking the door.

* * *

 _Olivia scanned over the massive wall rack, filled to capacity with CD's. The dinner had gone off perfectly, the conversation light and friendly, and despite her sister's nerves, it was apparent that Legolas seemed to approve of her. Olivia was fairly certain Kyli had nothing to worry about as far as that was concerned._

 _During the break between dinner and dessert, she had excused herself to Kyli's room to peruse her extensive music collection. It was common for her to borrow CD's from her sister, enjoying the variety she kept and the new bands it opened her up to. Even as she looked, she was putting back CD's from the last stack she had borrowed. Most of them were now ripped to her computer, but she kept that to herself._

 _When she heard footsteps behind her, she glanced over her shoulder, smiling when she saw Legolas standing in the doorway, his eyes widening at the sight of Kyli's collection. "My father mentioned your sister's addiction," he mused, Olivia smirking in response._

 _"We tried an intervention years ago, but it didn't seem to stick," she joked. Legolas' smile spread a bit, and he stepped up closer, wanting to take a look for himself. Olivia couldn't help stealing another glance at him. Thranduil himself was a very handsome man and it was evident his son had not missed out on any of those genetics. She could see some of Thranduil's features in him and any differences she could only assume were his mother's traits shining through. She wondered what his mother had looked like. Kyli never mentioned her, but part of her suspected it was simply because she knew very little about her as well._

 _"Don't tell my sister I said this," Olivia spoke up at last, looking away before Legolas could catch her admiring his appearance. "...but she was really nervous about meeting you."_

 _He smiled a little in response, nodding his head in a way that told her he had noticed. "She seemed very attentive," he replied. "I have a feeling this is not a typical situation for her?"_

 _"You don't know the half of it," Olivia chuckled. "I honestly can't remember the last time I saw her really date someone. At all. There's been a lot of flings, but I don't really remember anything serious." She paused. Perhaps that was one of those details she should not have shared?_

 _"Same with my father," Legolas answered, seeming to ignore Olivia's implication. "After my mother died... I know he eventually began to date again, but this is the first time one of his relationships has lasted long enough that he felt the need to introduce me."_

 _Something in his wording made her curious and she began to pry before she could stop herself. "Is this weird for you?" she asked._

 _Legolas frowned. "Weird?" he repeated, sounding unclear as to what she meant._

 _Olivia shrugged. "Your father dating someone my sister's age?" She didn't know why she wanted to know or why she was asking. There was little chance this was going to help Kyli's case at all, but she was too curious. "That's gotta be a little weird. Or is this typical of him?"_

 _"As far as I know, this is a first for him." Legolas' eyes wandered as he thought about it for a moment, then he shook his head. "Perhaps if I had any memories of my mother, I might find this weird. But I don't. She died before I was old enough to remember her." Olivia's brow raised a bit in response and Legolas turned his head, glancing out from the bedroom door and towards Kyli's kitchen._

 _Kyli was standing near the sink, already beginning to scrub off their used plates while Thranduil slipped in from behind her, his arms wrapping around her waist as he muttered something inaudible into her ear. Kyli smiled in response, giggling a little before turning around to slip her arms around his neck. He murmured something else that was also inaudible before lowering his mouth to hers. As they kissed, Olivia turned her head, seeing it as well. She waited for a moment, trying to read Legolas' reaction, but could hardly see any response at all in his features._

 _"Still not weird?" she asked quietly._

 _Legolas stood silently for a moment, then shook his head, looking back up to Olivia as he answered honestly. "Maybe a little... Still, I can't remember the last time I've seen him so happy."_

* * *

Olivia had texted Legolas to leave some hours ago, determined not to leave until she'd spoken to Kyli at least one last time. Legolas had been reluctant, but finally agreed, knowing better than to argue with Olivia once her mind was made up. While she waited patiently from the other side of the bedroom door, inside, Kyli was trying to process her thoughts.

Her mind was barely focused on her sister's pregnancy. Instead it was struggling to wrap around the thought of having to deal with Thranduil again. Despite anything she would say or any guise she would wear, she had never been unaware of her part in their breakup, nor had she ever fully forgiven herself. She could lie to herself as much as she wished, but she never believed any of it. Even if she was too proud to admit it out loud.

She knew Olivia was still in her apartment. She had been listening for the door, but when it did not open or shut, she knew Olivia was not going anywhere. Whether it was because she was determined to convince her to help before she left, or she wanted to make sure she was all right, Kyli was unsure.

Either way, another hour of simmering down did very little to help her nerves, so Kyli rose from her computer chair, using her cane to support herself out of her bedroom. When she opened the door, she found Olivia on the couch, watching TV with a bowl of popcorn on her lap. She did not look in response to the sounds of her approach, but Kyli knew she heard her.

She slowly sank down on the couch, watching the TV in silence for a moment, and Olivia moved the bowl of popcorn between them without a word. Kyli glanced down at the bowl, suspecting it was some sort of lazy peace offering, then reached in for a handful, her eyes moving up to her sister. "Do you need someone to go with you when you tell Mom and Dad?" she asked gently.

Olivia kept her eyes on the TV as she nodded. "That would be a huge help."

Kyli nodded, munching on a few pieces of popcorn before speaking again. "Do they know you two were even dating?"

A pause.

"Mom figured it out," she answered, her eyes lowering. "She wanted me to tell you a long time ago. I made her promise to let me decide when to do it. It's why she never said anything." She turned her eyes to Kyli. "And she's already on to me. She knows something's up."

Kyli smirked. "The woman's a witch."

Olivia gave her a half smile. "Yeah... _she's_ the witch in the family." They exchanged a brief chuckle and Kyli shrugged, her expression changing as she pondered over her words carefully.

"I know what you think... Liv. About what happened between Thranduil and I..." She sighed heavily. This was not easy for her. "And you're right. As angry as it makes me, you're right." Olivia's expression softened as she let her sister continue. "Even if I can admit that, Thranduil and I... there's just a lot of pain still there." Her voice lowered, but Olivia kept her eyes on her sister.

"I know there is," she replied quietly.

Kyli took a slow breath and nodded her head. "Is this what you really want, Liv? Are you really ready to be a mother? Do you really want to be married right now?" At the look her sister gave her, she held up a hand to clarify. "I'm not trying to sway you one way or the other. I just need to hear it from you. Is this what you _really_ want? I need to know that before I can even think about doing anything to help you."

Olivia hesitated. She wanted to fall back on any of the numerous excuses she told herself in the days that had followed finding out about her pregnancy. But hearing her sister be the most honest she'd even been in regards to her breakup, she felt at the very least Kyli deserved the same level of honesty. "I don't know. I'm scared to death just thinking about it... But I look at Legolas, and I think of our future together... and it's what I want. It's what we both want." She paused, debating on whether or not she should say more, but as Kyli seemed to be more receptive at the moment, she continued. "We've been together long enough and we already knew we were probably going to get married eventually anyway. And this way, Thranduil will see that we're going to be responsible about this."

"Marrying just because you got pregnant is not responsible."

"We're doing it earlier because of the baby, but we already knew we wanted to get married eventually." She swallowed hard, watching Kyli for a moment, and her gaze wandered to the couch cushions. "This is what I want, Kyli. And right now, I need your support."

Kyli sighed deeply, watching her sister as she slowly brought herself to accept that this was happening. With or without her help, Legolas and Olivia were going to become parents. They were going to be married. There was nothing she could do to stop that. And whether she liked it or not... this was what her sister wanted.

"I'll pay a visit to his office tomorrow to pay back the money you owe," Kyli said at last, looking away as Olivia's eyes moved up from the couch. "Hopefully that'll crack the door open a bit. But I can't promise anything."

The last part did not matter. Olivia's face broke into a wide smile and she lunged across the couch to hug her sister, knocking the popcorn bowl to the floor in the process. "Thank you!" she cried.

"Don't thank me yet," Kyli coughed. "And clean that up. I don't need ants in here."

* * *

 _The night was beginning to fade, and Olivia glanced at the clock, seeing that it was nearing eleven. Though there was probably still another twenty minutes left in the movie, she was feeling tired and had already seen it before anyway. Rising to her feet, she stretched before turning to gather her purse and coat. Kyli lifted her head from Thranduil's shoulder, looking up at her curiously._

 _"Headed out?" she asked._

 _"Yeah," Olivia answered. "It's getting late and I've got an opening shift in the morning."_

 _"Which way are you headed?" Legolas asked, turning his head to look at her._

 _"South of here. Just outside of the city," she answered. "I live with my parents in outskirts of the next town over."_

 _"Passing Greenwood?" he asked._

 _"Yeah," she replied as he shifted upwards on the couch._

 _"Mind if I tag along? You'll be going right past my house."_

 _Thranduil glanced over at him. "If you are ready to go, we can leave now, Legolas," he offered, unsure if his son's request would be making Olivia drive too far out of her way. Kyli couldn't help frowning. She wanted Thranduil to stay longer, even if she already knew he most likely could not spend the night while his son was in town._

 _Olivia spoke up before Legolas could. "No, it's all right." Her eyes wandered to her sister, giving her a knowing look before she signaled Legolas to come with her. "You'll have to give me directions," she warned him._

 _"That won't be a problem," he said, getting to his feet. Turning to Kyli, he moved over, extending a hand to her. "Thank you again for having me over. Dinner was terrific."_

 _Kyli smiled up at him, giving his hand a warm shake. "I'm glad you liked it. It was great to finally meet you." He returned her smile and nodded his head._

 _"You as well." Moving away from them, he quickly bid goodnight to his father and followed Olivia out the door._

 _Once they were in her car, the drive began quietly, Olivia throwing in one of the CD's she had borrowed while Legolas quietly pointed out directions as she drove. "Are you still in college?" he asked her after a moment._

 _"I'm going back in a few months," she answered. "I started off in graphic design, but then realized it wasn't what I wanted to do, so I took a semester off to figure things out." Her voice wandered for a moment, and she glanced over at him. "Kyli said you were getting into medicine?"_

 _"To be honest, I haven't fully decided myself..." he answered truthfully. "I've been studying bioengineering... but I've been considering possibly enrolling in medical school. I thought I wanted a career where I'd spend most of my time in labs, but now I'm not so sure." His eyes wandered to Olivia, watching how she kept her gaze focused on the road, and he smiled softly. "What about you?"_

 _"I've been looking into environmental journalism," she answered glancing over to him._

 _"Really? What school will you be attending?"_

 _"I'm doing my two years at a community college," she replied, her gaze returning to the road. "After that, I'll be looking at a 4-year school to finish up."_

 _"You should consider the one I attend," Legolas offered almost immediately. "Their science program is quite impressive and it's a good school to have on your resume. My father would probably even be willing to be a sponsor for your application."_

 _"I may have to consider that." A faint smile curved on her lips. "Thanks for the tip."_

 _"Of course," he replied. He studied her expression for a moment, before pointing out the next turn._

 _When they finally reached the house, or rather the first gate that led to the driveway, Olivia came to a stop, unable to see up ahead very far as it was well after dark. All she could see was the gate._

 _"Your father must like his privacy," she joked, and Legolas nodded._

 _"When you're as wealthy as he is... you have to take precautions." Olivia's brow furrowed. Kyli had hardly mentioned it and it had never registered to her, personally, how wealthy Thranduil really was._

 _"What does your father do again?" she asked as Legolas released his seatbelt._

 _"He is the CEO of Greenwood Wines," Legolas answered. "Our family founded the business several generations ago. Our wine is actually renowned worldwide as being one of the best that money can buy."_

 _"How did I not know that?" Olivia asked, mostly to herself. She knew damn well how she didn't know. Because Kyli hardly spoke to her anymore, that's why. She was surprised that something even that impressive would not have been brought up. "So then, your family's rich?" she asked without thinking. "Very rich?"_

 _Despite her lack of tact, Legolas managed an amused smile. "That's a way of putting it," he answered. "I'm surprised your sister never mentioned it."_

 _Olivia shrugged, wishing now she could see the house ahead in the darkness. It must be huge, or at least she would imagine so. "Money's not important to my sister," she answered, though she wasn't entirely sure if that was true. For all she knew, she could be dating Thranduil for his money. However, it didn't seem likely as she truly seemed to enjoy herself around him._

 _"I did not think it was," he remarked. "She seems very happy around my father." His gaze lingered on hers for a moment, looking as though he was trying to find more he could say, but eventually he looked towards the gate again and sighed. "I'd better get out here so you can head home. Tell your sister I said thanks again."_

 _"I will," Olivia answered. "Have a good night." He got out of the car, waving back at her with a smile, and once he had the gate open, Olivia pulled out, making her way home._


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 _It was a little over ten years ago, and it began as a typical day._

 _Kyli lowered her head and closed her eyes, finding a position that was suitably comfortable while her body rested in the soft grass. Her ride was late, which was no surprise. Detention was not enough of a punishment for acting out, her parents loved to make her wait in hopes of driving the point home._

 _All it ever did was encourage her further not get caught._

 _Knowing she most likely had plenty of time, she reached into her backpack and drew out her headphones, sliding them into place and powering up her portable CD the music began to lift her spirits, she closed her eyes once more, allowing her imagination to wander, various forms and images dancing around in the back of her mind._

 _Kyli's love for music could almost be classified as an addiction. Already her small CD rack at home was nearly filled and she was considering buying another. Most students spent their allowances on games, food, or -if they knew the right people- booze. Nearly every penny Kyli received for her allowance went straight to expanding her collection. That's simply how it was. Music calmed her, motivated her, and at times like this, helped her forget her problems and "drift away" for a while._

 _Until that afternoon, she only drifted away in her imagination and she enjoyed it. But when it finally happened for real, it was far different._

 _"What are you doing?"_

 _Her brow furrowed. Even with her headphones on, she had heard the unexpected voice clear as day. She did not recognize it, though she guessed it was probably her father. With a sigh, she opened her eyes and prepared herself for a lecture._

 _A man stood above her, dressed in tattered clothing with dirt smudged on his face. She did not recognize him at all._

 _Pulling off her headphones, she sat upright, intending to ask him the exact same question, but before the words could even leave her mouth, she caught sight of her surroundings. What had been the soft grass of the schoolyard, had become the poorly landscaped front yard of an aged house._

 _Her heart began to pound as she looked around. She had no idea where she was._

 _The stranger who had called her attention, extended his hand to her, offering to help her up. But not knowing where she was or how she got there overwhelmed her with the desire to return home where she was safe. Though the stranger may have been friendly, Kyli recoiled from him._

 _Everything around her flashed. The old house, the overgrown lawn, and the stranger were all gone. The school building was behind her, and the parking lot ahead of her. She could even see her parents' car pulling in._

 _"What?" she gasped at no one, looking around in a state of complete unease. "What just happened?!"_

* * *

"Mr. Oropherion?"

The voice of his secretary made Thranduil stir in his seat. Over the years, he hardly was ever startled by the intercom, but his focus had been nearly completely devoted to the contract in front of him. Reaching over to press the button, he answered, "Yes?"

"There's a Miss Parker here for you. She says she has some debt with you that she would like to settle up?"

Thranduil blinked in surprise. Most of him had not expected Olivia to pay him back so quickly, _if_ at all.

"She may leave it with you," he replied into the intercom. "Give her my thanks as well, please."

He turned back to his work, but the intercom went off once more. "Mr. Oropherion... she's insisting that she see you personally."

He looked up from his work slowly, his expression growing grim. Whether it was his paranoia deciding it for him, or the simple knowledge that Olivia was not likely to insist on seeing him for anything if she didn't need to, he already knew Olivia was not the "Miss Parker" waiting outside his office.

 _What could she possibly want?_ he wondered, already feeling unsettled.

"Should I send her away?" his secretary asked after waiting for his response.

Thranduil pursed his lips. He knew better than anyone there was no stopping Kyli from getting into any place she wished. It was a fact that made her terrifying to him in a way. He hesitated, then pressed the button. "Send her in," he instructed. He almost considered requesting she have security on standby, but pushed back the thought. Kyli, despite being visibly bitter with him after he ended their relationship, had never once posed a threat against him. There was no sense in treating her like she may be one, only to aggravate her. He swallowed hard, closing the file in front of him and looked upwards. He watched as she stepped into view in front of the glass surrounding his office.

Even with her cane, Kyli walked with a confident stride, hiding the fact that, inside, she could already feel her nerves drawing closer to the edge. She still remembered how uncomfortable she'd felt, seeing him at the pharmacy. That had been unexpected. This was planned. Part of her hoped the technicality would make a difference.

As she drew close enough to see him, she realized that planning on seeing him did little to make it any easier. The awkward feeling of discomfort stirred in the pit of her stomach and she began to push it down. He was already watching for her when she reached his office door, and she pulled it open, stopping just at the other side and waiting for it to shut.

She stared at him quietly, trying to assess his expression. "Hi..." she said softly.

Thranduil nodded his head in acknowledgment. "Kyli," he addressed her. His eyes wandered to her cane, silently contemplating something before meeting her gaze once more. "What can I do for you?"

There was no hostility in his tone or expression, but it was still cold.

Deciding to cut to the chase, she opened her purse, pulling out a check and holding it up briefly for him to see. "My sister borrowed money from you?" she asked, making her way up to his desk. "I just wanted to make sure that debt was paid off." She stopped just close enough to hold the check out to him, and after glancing at it for a moment, he reached out and took it. Though he doubted he really needed to make sure everything was in order, he spent a moment, reading it over quietly.

"Will that be all?" he inquired, looking back up at her.

Kyli hesitated. Technically, she had done all she had claimed she would. She had given Thranduil back his money and had managed to do it in a civilized manner. What more could she reasonably say at that point? 'I hope we can be friends?' That ship had sailed a long time ago and she greatly suspected neither of them wanted it. She frowned. Olivia would have to settle for this one act of good will because it was all she could tolerate at the moment.

"That's all," she answered, stepping away. "That and... thanks for helping. My sister really was grateful for it." She waited a moment, but when he said nothing more, she turned for the door, her hand resting on the handle.

Thranduil watched her, still expecting some snide comment... something to indicate any hint of bitterness, but there was nothing. Were it not for the way he had seen her stare him down at the pharmacy, he would have thought she was perhaps over everything that happened between them. Still, she was showing no sign of that now. It made him wonder what to believe.

He lowered his eyes. "How is Olivia?" he asked. Though he wanted nothing more than to let her finish her business with him as quickly as possible, he felt an obligation to follow up after having seen Olivia in the state he had when he helped her. The slip of paper containing the name of her prescription was still sitting on his desk, forgotten, though he kept meaning to look it up.

Kyli frowned, then turned back to face him, lying as naturally as ever. "She's all right," she answered. "It was just a stomach virus. The anti-nausea meds helped and she's almost back to normal."

"Stomach virus?" he repeated, wondering if this was the first warning that something was going around. "Nothing too serious, I hope?"

"No," she replied, shaking her head. "Just made it very hard for her to eat. That's why she looked so bad the other day. But, like I said, the meds helped and she'll be back on her feet again soon."

Thranduil nodded, taking the information in and mulling it over. Kyli shifted uncomfortably on her feet, her hip beginning to protest already, and she cleared her throat, drawing his gaze back on her. "I'd better let you get back to it," she said, nodding pointedly to the file in front of him. "Don't want to take up any more of your time. Thank you, again." She turned the handle and pulled the door open.

"Send your sister my best, Kyli," he replied with a nod.

"I will," she replied, not looking back. With that, she was gone, Thranduil taking one last look before trying to return his focus to his work. _Well... that went better than expected,_ he mused.

* * *

 _"Your report card came in the mail today."_

 _Kyli did not bother looking up from where she sat at the kitchen table. She already knew the bad news and saw no need to make eye contact with her father. "Apparently, you're on academic probation now," he continued, setting the paper down in front of her to see. "Last year, you were on the honor roll. What happened?"_

 _She didn't answer. She didn't know how to answer._

 _Her father sighed, pulling out a chair adjacent to her and taking a seat. "Kathryn... what is going on with you lately? You shut yourself in your room most of the time. Your mother and I barely get two words out of you a day. And now your grades are dropping?" He pursed his lips, his concerns only growing as she refused to look at him._

 _"Kathryn... please talk to me. Is something... did something happen to you? This behavior isn't like you. You've always been better than this. Did something happen?"_

 _Tears formed over her eyes causing her to lower her head even further in an attempt to hide it, though she knew he had already seen. There were no words she could form or wanted to form. What could she tell him? That she had gone suddenly and inexplicably insane? That for the past month she had been suffering hallucinations so vivid she could hardly tell what was real anymore?_

 _None of what she was seeing could have possibly been real. Other worlds did not exist. The were all figments of her imagination. They had to be. Why they felt the need to launch themselves at the most inopportune moments was what bothered her. So far, no one had seen her suffer one of these episodes, and though she knew she should be confessing all of this to someone and seeking out help... there was still that doubt that held her back._

 _What if it was real?_

 _It couldn't be... but what if it was?_

 _"I'll get my grades back up," she answered as soon as she could manage a steady voice. Her father pursed his lips, not satisfied with her vague reply, but before he could say more, she rose from her seat and left for her bedroom._

 _Once she was safe and able to shut them all out, she closed the door and let herself sink to the floor, her body shaking with sobs. All she could feel was her anger, wishing she knew what brought this on and why it wouldn't stop. She had never been perfect before, but this past year had seen such a stark change in her personality that even she couldn't ignore it._

 _She had once been an honor roll student. Her relationship with her parents had been as normal as any other teenager's. There was never any friction between herself and them, or anyone for that matter. But the start of the summer seemed to bring all of that to the end. She had begun to withdraw, finding herself less inclined to socialize with her parents or anyone else. She preferred to be alone more often than not. When classes started, her once diligent study habits were forgotten in exchange for reading or listening to music in solitude. Her hallucinations were only one in a series of confusing changes that were taking place, but they were by far the worst._

 _She could feel herself withdrawing from reality a little more each day, and it frightened her._

 _When the air around her shifted, she cursed, already knowing it was happening again. She refused to look up, hoping that maybe if she refused to acknowledge these delusions, they would disappear entirely. Maybe if she could make herself stop thinking about them they would leave._

 _A breeze blew past her, and she squeezed her eyes shut and grit her teeth, trying to make herself focus on anything else. Leaves were rustling around her. She bit down on her lower lip, trying to make herself remember the homework she'd been assigned._

 _Page... 65? No. Page 64 to page... what was it?_

 _Something was crawling on her arm. Some sort of large bug..._

 _Kyli looked up with a yelp, brushing frantically at her sleeve as she jumped to her feet. A pair of glittering wings caught her eye as they fluttered backwards a bit, then stopped to hover in front of her. Kyli squinted as she watched the creature's movements curiously. It was adorned in a light that made it almost too bright to make out properly._

 _So far she had seen old farms, dark forests, and strange villages. But this time was somewhat different. This time it was a field at night, tall grass dancing around her in the breeze and the smell of autumn in the air. There were few trees scattered about, their leaves all rustling above her with impossibly bright colors, and in the distance were flitting trails of light, darting about too fast and sporadic to be fireflies. As the one hovering in front of her slowly came into view, Kyli was able to make out a tiny human-like face._

 _A fairy._

 _She didn't know whether to feel wonder or frustration. The creature before her looked so real, and yet it could only be another glaring sign of how far gone her mind truly was. None of this was real. It could not be real._

 _The fairy's mouth began to move, but whether or not it had actually said anything, she was unsure. It was impossible to make out any audible voice let alone words. It watched her, its expression as curious as hers, then it drew back, flitting away to join the others in the distance._

 _Kyli's eyes moved over her surroundings, unable to help herself from taking in one more look as she knew she would be home again soon. These hallucinations never seemed to last long and though she was usually eager for them to end... this time was different. This place, whatever it was supposed to be, was too beautiful for her to ignore. Wading her way through the billowing grass, she wandered over to one of the nearest trees, tracing her fingers over its strange bark and looking over its bright, iridescent colored leaves._

 _Of all the episodes she'd suffered, this was one of the prettiest._

 _Reaching up, she plucked a leaf from one of the branches, then sank back down to the grass below, leaning up against the trunk of the tree as she closed her eyes, her fingers trailing over the leaf in her hands. She thought of home, of her bedroom covered in band posters and her CD rack that was nearly full. She thought of her homework, of her heavy backpack laying on her mattress, partially opened with a few text books poking out..._

 _The air around her changed and she opened her eyes. The familiar walls of her bedroom surrounded her and she felt a sense of relief enter her mind. She was back to reality. As she began to shift, intending to get back up to her feet, her thumb brushed absentmindedly over something in her hands and she looked down._

 _Her eyes widened._

 _She was still holding the leaf._

 _Kyli's heart began to pound._

 _It was real._

* * *

It was nearing time for his lunch hour and Thranduil rose from his desk, stowing away his work to return to later. He stretched out his stiff back, hearing his spine pop as he grunted almost involuntarily. Pushing his chair into his desk, he passed by the window, glancing down to look at the city street below. The afternoon traffic was already making is appearance, cars waiting -some less patiently than others- for the light to change, pedestrians waiting on either side of the street for their turn to cross. Thranduil observed them all for a moment until his eyes wandered a little further, falling on the coffee house up at the corner.

His brow furrowed and he squinted a little, trying to determine if his eyes were deceiving him. Reaching for the door to the coffee house, was Kyli. He stood still, watching as she made her way inside and he pondered it for a moment. Her apartment was within walking distance and it had been nearly an hour since she had left his office. Had she gone home and then wandered back out just for coffee? With all the trouble her hip seemed to give her, he doubted it.

He pulled his gaze away, trying to put her from his mind. She had already come and gone, doing only what she needed to. There was no reason to think about her or wonder for another moment why she was still there. He was under no obligation to pursue this.

He paced around his desk, reaching for his jacket, hanging on the hook on his wall, then paused, his fingers slowly closing around the fabric. With a heavy sigh, he lowered his head. There was no possible way Kyli had walked home and then walked back. If she was at that coffee house, it was because she never managed to make it home. And if she had not managed to make it home, it was either because she truly wished to linger in this part of the city for a while longer... or she was in too much pain for the walk.

He pursed his lips.

 _This is none of your business. Let her handle this alone..._

Despite how hard he tried to convince himself of that, it would not stick. And though he had put it from his mind long enough to get some work done, the fact that she had been the one to pay him back and not her sister was still confusing him as well. He reached for the handle on his door and began to turn it.

 _This is none of your business... This is none of your business..._

He traced his tongue over his lips for a moment, then shook his head. Walking to his office door, he reached forward and locked it. Kyli was a closed chapter in his life. He needed to remember it.

Still, he was not one to leave someone, who was possibly in a lot of pain, stranded without help. He glanced at his clock. If he did not see someone show up for her in ten minutes, he would make a phone call.

* * *

 _Though her life would never resemble anything "normal" again, in the ten years that followed her startling discovery, Kyli experienced more than most would in a lifetime. With time and practice, she grew familiar with the warning signs that she was about to disappear. Eventually, she learned to fight back and ground herself. It was not long, however, before she learned to transport herself voluntarily. Once she learned that, all boundaries practically vanished from existence._

 _Time matured her and her control grew stronger by the day until her accidental vanishings were hardly a concern anymore. They still happened, but to a lesser extent. And when they did happen, she had trained herself well enough to calm her mind an focus, able to send herself back home quickly if needed... and if possible._

 _However, just because her navigation of other worlds had improved, she still found her navigation in her own world often lacked luster..._

 _Was she really lost again? Kyli looked both ways down the seemingly endless hall, wondering how anyone could memorize the layout of this house? When she had pulled into the driveway, her jaw nearly fell into her lap as she took in the sheer size of the place. It was not a house, it was a mansion. There was no other word for it. It was larger than anything she could have expected, and though she'd known Thranduil was rich, this was her first real glimpse into just how rich he truly was._

 _His personal assistant, Jude, had been there to greet her as Thranduil was still finishing up at the office, having already her to go on ahead of him and make herself at home. Though this would be the third time, Kyli swallowed her pride and moved to one of the intercoms on a nearby wall, pressing a button._

 _"Hey, Jude..." she called, releasing the button to allow herself a giggle, especially when she heard him sigh as he responded._

 _"Lost again, Miss Parker?"_

 _"I think I see a library just at the end of the hall, and I passed a series of bedrooms..." she replied, already knowing to describe her location._

 _"If you keep moving forward and take a right after the library, you will reach a set of stairs at the end of the hall. They will lead you down just before the living room on the first floor. I trust you can find your way from there?"_

 _"Yeah. Thanks, Jude."_

 _There was no response and she smiled to herself, shaking her head as she moved forward. "I don't think he likes me..." she muttered in amusement._

 _It was only about a half hour later that Thranduil finally returned home, finding Kyli had settled herself in the downstairs library with one of his books, reading quietly until she heard his footsteps on the wooden floor, making their way to her. Her eyes raised from her book and she smiled at him._

 _"You got lost, didn't you," he said in greeting, a knowing smile on his lips._

 _"Jude was very helpful," she replied, causing him to chuckle while she stood up and put the book back on the shelf._

 _"I should give you the grand tour after supper, I think," he noted, drawing her close to him for a kiss. "Now you can finally say you've seen my home."_

 _"Yes, and I can honestly say I'm pretty sure my apartment would fit in your bedroom..." she laughed._

 _"Nonsense..." he murmured, stealing another kiss. As his lips pressed into hers, he sighed softly, his arms tightening their grip around her for a moment. Kyli felt her heart flutter and drew her lips back with smile._

 _"What's for dinner?"_

 _Thranduil leaned back, letting his hands settle on her hips for a moment as he answered her. "I brought home pizza. Hope that's all right?"_

 _"Who doesn't like pizza?" she answered and he beamed at her, releasing her as he turned towards the door._

 _"Wonderful. It's in the kitchen," he said as she made her way out first. As she began to turn right, he reached out and patted her shoulder._

 _"Kitchen's to the left," he chuckled, unable to help smiling at her with affection as her cheeks tinted red just before changing course._

* * *

It was barely ten minutes until Thranduil finally saw Olivia's car pull up to the entrance of the coffee house and park. He made sure it was Olivia, seeing her step out of her car, and then he reached up, shutting the blinds over his window. _Enough of this. Just let her go._


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"This is the best option?" Kyli asked, unable to hide the disappointment on her face.

Dr. Green nodded his head, his expression somewhat sympathetic. "I'm sorry, Kyli," he answered. "I know you're tired of changing medications, but I no longer feel comfortable raising your dosage any higher."

"I'm not abusing it," she insisted, and he nodded.

"It's nothing like that," he replied. "If anything, given how infrequently you've been going in for refills, I'd be more concerned about your lack of use." Kyli shifted uncomfortably, but he continued talking. "The truth is, the medication we currently have you on is not intended for long-term use, and when I originally prescribed it, it was with the hope that a decision could be made as to another surgery that would help you... but after our most recent x-rays and going over your progress with physical therapy..." His voice trailed off and she frowned.

"We're giving up on surgery then," she muttered, lowering her eyes.

"I would not say we've completely given up," he spoke up a little too quickly. "I have a few colleagues that, with your permission of course, I'd like to refer your information to. They may have some ideas I have not considered yet."

Kyli nodded slowly, though she did not look back up. "And... what happens if they can't find anything? What's presumably going to happen if surgery's no longer an option?"

He frowned but did not avoid the question. "Well... first we would start working you on to some stronger medications... possibly some nerve blockers as there's evidence your sciatic nerve is causing you quite a bit of pain on top of everything else. Ultimately, you'd be looking at a lifetime of pain medications... and most likely a decline in mobility."

She blinked several times, trying to process that. "Decline of... and what would that mean? Exactly?"

He pursed his lips. "A few years down the road... you may be looking at a wheelchair." Kyli's eyes closed and she lowered her head. "The timeline, of course..." he continued, "...would depend on several factors, your pain tolerance being one of stronger the medication, the harder it may be for you to feel like you're... well, not foggy. And as I seem to recall, you are rather adamant about avoiding that."

"So I either have my mind in a fog, or I'm in a wheelchair because it hurts too much to walk?" she asked, her voice wavering.

He was silent for several moments, then reached a cautious hand forward, resting it on her shoulder. "Kyli," he said in an encouraging tone. "Living with the amount of pain you do on a daily basis is not easy. I know what I'm telling you right now isn't good news, but you've already demonstrated in the year since your accident that you're as strong as you are stubborn." He offered her a faint smile. "So do me one favor. Hold on to that strength just long enough for me to find out if there's some way my other colleagues can help you."

She closed her eyes and nodded her head slowly. "Okay," she sighed, opening her eyes once more and looking up at him. "I... I'm assuming there's some sort of form I have to sign for that?" He turned to his desk, pulling out the appropriate paperwork and handed it to her to sign. Once she was finished he wrote her up a new prescription and handed it to her.

She braced herself on her cane as she walked out, hoping Olivia was on time to pick her up. Her sister had been very insistent on carpooling with her, claiming that there were errands she needed to run in that part of town. As far as Kyli knew, there was nothing of interest anywhere near her doctor's office, so what those errands were, she was unsure. She had been too preoccupied to question it, her mind too busy worrying over possibly receiving the exact news Dr. Green had given her.

Though surgery had always been slim chance, Kyli had held out hope that something would surface. Something that would heal her enough so that she would no longer need her pain medication anymore and would be open to travel as much as she used to. With her pain increasing, her will to hold off was not as strong as it once was, and the more she had to cut back on drifting in and out of worlds, the more it began to wear on her. If she had to lose it all just because of the pain...

She quickly wiped both her eyes. Not here. If she needed to, she could cry when she got home, but she would not do it here.

Pushing the door to the front entrance open, she took two steps, already looking for Olivia's car, then stopped, her shoulders dropping as her eyes fell on Legolas, standing with his hands in his pockets with an expectant look.

"Of course..." she sighed.

* * *

 _"You should really give Mom a call. She keeps asking about you."_

 _Kyli shrugged as she finished filling out the deposit slip, and checked over her writing. "Isn't she still Facebook stalking me?" she asked, her tone giving no hint that she really cared._

 _Olivia smirked and shook her head, "Yeah, like you ever update it. I swear you only post like once every couple of weeks."_

 _"Well, when I stop posting, that can be the time to worry," Kyli replied, setting the pen down and moving aside so her sister could use the counter._

 _Olivia cocked an eyebrow at her cold response, and moved to the counter, pulling out a slip to fill out. "If I didn't keep dragging you out on your days off, I don't think I'd ever see you either."_

 _Kyli frowned at her sister's words and turned her head to look around. The line to the teller wasn't so bad for a Friday, and she doubted they would have to wait more than a few minutes._

 _"You need to get out more often. You spend too much of your free time shut away in your apartment," Olivia continued, and Kyli couldn't help her amused smile as she shook her head._

 _"Yeah… that's it…" she replied under her breath. Turning around she watched the front door and noticed two men walking in together, both of them carrying backpacks. Working in retail for too long, her immediate instinct was to keep an eye on them, but when she remembered where she was, she lowered her eyes and looked back to her sister._

 _"Damn…" Olivia muttered, reaching for her phone. "I always forget my account number…" As she swiped through the different screens, Kyli raised her eyebrows._

 _"You keep that information on your phone? Liv, that's a terrible idea!"_

 _"Oh hush," she replied. "It's not like I don't have a pass code on my phone…"_

 _"Yeah, because those always…" her sarcastic tone trailed off as she turned her head towards the door again. One of the men had stayed behind and was now watching intently as his friend began to make his way towards the front, sliding the backpack from his shoulder as he walked._

 _Her heart began to pound and she looked back at the door, watching as the one who had lingered began to pull out what looked like some sort of bike lock and turned towards the door._

 _"Liv…" she called in a low tone, pretending to casually look around instead of searching for another exit. Olivia barely acknowledged Kyli's voice and continued to write while Kyli's eyes darted around the bank. There were no other doors. They were trapped. Unless…_

 _Changing gears, she took another casual look again, this time looking for all the security cameras._

 _Turning her head, she watched until the man at the doors turned his back on them to begin to place the lock while the sound of a gun cocking in the front caused Olivia to look up from the counter, her brow furrowing. "Is he…?"_

 _Before she could finish her sentence, Kyli grabbed on to her sister's arm and hissed, "Be quiet!" before pulling her to the one spot that looked like it could be a blind spot from the security cameras. Olivia said nothing, but never took her eyes of the shot gun, feeling Kyli come to a stop and tug her until they were crouching down._

 _"Everybody listen up!" shouted the man in the front._

 _Kyli looked between the two of them, making sure neither of the men had seen her or her sister, and at that point, everyone else in the bank had their eyes focused on the shotgun the first man waved around._

 _"Oh my god!" Olivia gasped, beginning to tremble, and Kyli gripped down on her, closing her eyes and trying to focus._

 _This had better work… she thought to herself. She didn't care where she landed, she just needed to make sure she brought her sister with her. She had taken items with her before when she traveled, but this would be the first time she'd attempted bringing a person._

 _As the gunman began to bark out instructions, she felt the tug in the back of her brain, and she focused on the both of them, determined to carry Olivia with her for the ride. Being able to travel on her own almost always felt like stepping through a doorway, but this time, it felt like she was trying to squeeze herself through a tight crevice. Her mind felt like it was being pulled and stretched, trying to drag along a heavy anchor… and then the anchor budged. The world around her began to shift, but Olivia remained within her grasp._

* * *

"Did Olivia put you up to this?" Kyli asked, watching the buildings zip past them as he drove her to her apartment.

"Actually, it was my idea," he answered, keeping his eyes on the road. "I wanted to speak with you."

Kyli raised an eyebrow. "And if I say no?"

Legolas gave a faint shrug, his tone completely passive and showing no sign of discouragement or annoyance. Only honesty. "Then I will let you off at your apartment and leave." He glanced at her sidelong. "I won't force you to talk to me, Kyli."

She sat silently for the rest of the drive, not answering him one way or the other until he pulled up to her apartment complex. Seeming to assume her answer was no, he brought the car alongside the sidewalk and put it in neutral so she could get out, but Kyli turned her eyes back to him.

"Park, and we'll talk," she said softly. Legolas nodded, shifting the car back into gear, and he pulled around to one of the closest spots. As they made their way up the stairs, Kyli popped two of her pain meds, knowing she would not have the tolerance to handle her pain and whatever it was Legolas wanted to talk about, though she had a pretty good idea. It had been three weeks since the day she had paid Thranduil back for helping Olivia. She had made no attempt to reach out to him since, and though neither Legolas or Olivia said a word to her on the matter, she knew they were impatiently waiting for her to attempt another interaction.

In truth, she was holding off until they bothered her about it again.

Kyli held the door to her apartment open to Legolas, he thanked her as he stepped inside and as she closed and locked it, she asked, "I'm about to make some tea. Want some?" She gestured to the kitchen table, welcoming him to sit as she walked past.

Legolas nodded politely and took a seat while Kyli got the water boiling. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder at him while she worked.

He paused for a moment, allowing time for her to stop filling the kettle with water, and once the sink was shut off, he answered, "I wanted to ask what exactly happened between you and my father."

Kyli moved to the base of the automatic kettle and set it back up, pressing the button before turning to lean against the counter while she waited for it to boil.

"Nothing, really. I just gave him the check and-"

"No," Legolas interrupted. "I meant before that. Back when you were dating. I was wondering what exactly happened?"

Kyli's eyes lowered and she crossed her arms over her chest. "It's very complicated." She avoided his gaze as she stood perfectly still. "What did he tell you?"

Legolas shrugged and shook his head. "Almost those words exactly. That it was very complicated." He frowned. "Though I was somehow under the impression that you ended the relationship. Not him."

She sighed, adjusting her stance a bit to remove some of the weight from her bad hip. "I suppose that would all depend on perspective..." Finally, she looked at him, studying his gaze for a moment. "Why do you want to know?"

Legolas seemed to study her before answering. "I'd like to know what sort of bad blood lies between you and my father. I want a better understanding of what exactly Olivia and I are asking you to do." His expression softened slightly. "I'd rather hear your side of it than make assumptions."

Kyli regarded his words with care, sensing that, despite the fact that her ex was his father, he genuinely wanted to hear her side of the story. With an open heart. She took in a deep breath and tried to find the best way to explain their situation.

"I made promises to your father that... in the end I couldn't keep," she answered, circling the table and pulling out a chair to sit down. "There were things in my life that I promised I would give up... things he wanted me to give up for him and, at the time, I wanted to as well." Her frown deepened. "But the more I tried, the more I found I couldn't do it." She lowered her eyes. "Eventually he got tired of waiting."

She knew the answer was vague and was not surprised when his brow furrowed with confusion. "What sort of things?"

She sighed again, tracing the lines on one of her palms absentmindedly with her fingertips. "Let's just say it was, what he would consider, a bad habit." The kettle began to boil and she slowly rose from her seat, moving to the cupboard, pulling out two mugs and three different kinds of tea. She fixed herself some chai with honey and lemon and he joined her at the counter, selecting what he wanted and preparing his own mug. Once they were seated at the table again, she took a deep drink from her mug, the temperature just perfect and warming her throat on the way down. Chai always calmed her and even the bad news of the day seemed to be fading from her mind.

Once Legolas was settled back in his seat, he turned his eyes to her again. "So... what you're saying is my father ultimately gave up on you?"

She had said those words herself so many times, but somehow hearing it back for the first time did not sit right with her. Perhaps it was her calmed state of mind that allowed her to think clearly, perhaps it was the fact that her medication was already doing its work and alleviating most of her pain, removing some of the grim feelings that had stagnated there. Whatever it was, she couldn't bring herself to fully agree with the statement, even though she said nothing to indicate it.

She took another sip from her mug, finding herself needing to keep her emotions in check. It may have been an old wound, but it took very little to make it raw again. "I can't imagine he's had anything nice to say about me since," she muttered.

But Legolas shook his head. "He never speaks of it," he answered. "Never speaks of you or what went wrong. Aside from this past month, I don't think I've heard him mention you once at all. Not since the day of your accident at least."

Kyli stiffened. "What do you mean 'since my accident?'"

Not noticing the change in her demeanor, he paused, lowering his mug instead of taking another sip as he'd originally intended. "The day of the accident, he was there at the hospital. Did they not tell you?"

Kyli shook her head. Her _accident_ had happened after the breakup. "I didn't know he even knew anything happened. I mean he never asked about my cane but I figured it was either because he was trying to avoid having a conversation with me." She shook her head again, silently wondering how much he really knew about it. "If he had been there, I never saw him."

Legolas shook his head. "I didn't realize... I don't know why they didn't tell you."

* * *

 _There came a shout of, "What the?!" from Olivia, and the both of them fell over backwards, landing into a layer of snow. Olivia immediately sat upright, looking at her changed surroundings with wide, confused eyes, while Kyli remained where she was, momentarily too dizzy to stand._

 _"What just happened?!" Olivia shouted, scrambling to her feet. "Are you seeing this? Is this real?!" Kyli managed to finally raise her head, and slowly sat up to take a look around. They were in the middle of a forest at night, and large flakes of snow were lightly falling around them. She had no idea where they were, but for the moment, it looked like they were at least alone. Still, they couldn't be too careful._

 _"Lower your voice," Kyli spoke up, waiting for the ability to stand up to return. "I don't know where we are."_

 _"What's happening?!" Olivia shouted, turning back to her. "Where are we? How did we-"_

 _A howl in the distance cut her question short, and Kyli turned her head in the direction of the sound, stumbling to her feet as she signaled her sister to be quiet._

 _"What is that?" Olivia asked, taking several steps back, and Kyli grabbed hold of her._

 _"I really don't feel like finding out," she answered, and despite her weakened state, she closed her eyes and focused again._

 _When they came out the other side again, this time, it was in her apartment, and the moment they crossed over, Kyli lost her grip and fell. "What?!" Olivia cried, completely disoriented, but when she saw her sister fall, she knelt down in a panic. "Kyli!"_

 _Kyli looked up at her lazily and reached a hand up to her. "Help me up," she groaned. Her sister reached down, slinging her arm over her shoulder, and supported her to her feet, walking her to the couch so she could sit down._

 _"What's happening?!"_

 _Before Kyli answered her, she looked up at the TV and reached behind herself for the remote. "What are you doing?!" Olivia shouted as the TV clicked on, but Kyli ignored her as she flipped to the first local station she could find. A breaking news report of the bank robbery in progress was already on the screen, police already surrounding the building, and photographs of the two suspects displayed for viewers to see. She waited a few minutes, making sure there was no mention of two women disappearing into thin air, and she breathed out a sigh of relief, turning off the set._

 _She could still feel Olivia's eyes on her, waiting impatiently for an explanation, and with a sigh, she pointed to the kitchen behind them. "I'll tell you everything," she murmured. "…but first I need a beer."_

 _At length, Kyli told her everything. How it began, the moment she discovered it was really happening, how she had been hiding it all this time..._

 _The two sat in silence for what felt like hours, Kyli working on her second beer while her sister sipped on something a little stronger._

 _"I… don't understand how you kept this hidden for this long," Olivia finally spoke up. "How has no one else seen it?"_

 _Kyli took another deep drink and shrugged as she swallowed. "Dumb luck," she answered. "And a lot of lying to explain away anything weird."_

 _Olivia mulled her answer over, thinking back on their childhood and trying to remember any signs._

 _"So… that time when you were sixteen and Mom and Dad caught you sneaking in really early and you said you'd spent the night at Jason's house?"_

 _Kyli smirked at the memory. That was not her immediate lie, or at least not the one she had planned to use. They had outright accused her the moment she walked in the door, and knowing it would keep them too angry to question the details, she bit the bullet and went with it. "Fell asleep at home, woke up on some old man's lawn... in a medieval world," she answered._

 _"But you were grounded for like a month!" Olivia cried, laughing a little as she said it. "Mom and Dad were pissed! And they made you two break up!"_

 _Kyli chuckled, though a part of her still shuddered at the memory of how loudly they'd shouted. "I was already going to end it."_

 _"But what that did to Mom and Dad… I mean… was it really worth it?"_

 _Kyli's smile faded. "Do you think for a second they would have believed the truth, Liv? They either would have thought I was crazy or lying."_

 _"But you could have tried to tell them," Olivia pressed. "You could have told me. You could have shown me!"_

 _"I didn't even know until today that I can take people with me. That's never happened before. Objects, yes. But not people." She shook her head slowly with a frown. "And I barely knew what I was doing with myself back then. With my luck, I wouldn't have figured out how to get us back. We could have ended up permanently lost somewhere. And then what would that have done to Mom and Dad?"_

 _Olivia's opened her mouth but when she was unable to find a way to argue with that logic, she sat back, her eyes lowering._

 _"You have any idea how much this… whatever this is, has sucked?" Kyli asked her. "Especially back then. I was always one bad attitude away from falling into some random forest or someone's lawn… I even turned up in the middle of an orc attack once!" Olivia made a face, but Kyli nodded. "Oh, yes. Those exist in some worlds. And they're about as friendly as you'd expect."_

 _Olivia looked dumbfounded and her eyes wandered off, staring at nothing in particular as she muttered, "I'm glad we didn't stick around to find out what that howling was…"_

 _Kyli nodded in agreement and sat back in her seat, taking another sip of beer. "It's less like that now. I have better control. I don't always disappear on accident anymore. In fact that happens a lot less than it used to. I mean it still sometimes happens… And sometimes I get stuck."_

 _Olivia's brow furrowed. "Stuck? What do you mean stuck?"_

 _Kyli's frown deepened. She had never shared this much information to anyone who truly knew her before and she already knew it was about to go bad. "I mean that sometimes I can't get back home right away. Sometimes I have to wait a few minutes, maybe even an hour…" Worry had already begun to enter Olivia's features, but Kyli continued. "But the really scary thing is that time doesn't pass the same in every world. I could be gone for a minute here, but an hour will have gone by there… or the other way around."_

 _"Like Narnia?"_

 _Kyli smirked. "…if that helps you. It hasn't happened often, but it's one of the scariest parts."_

 _"So… you mean you could disappear somewhere some day without meaning to… and to us, you could be gone for years?" There was a look of horror in her sister's eyes as she asked and Kyli shifted uncomfortably. She had spent too many sleepless nights panicked over that very idea._

 _"I've never come across a world with that big of a time difference-"_

 _"But it could happen…" Olivia stressed._

 _"I… I don't know." A lump formed in her throat as she found herself unwilling to say 'yes,' despite knowing it might be a very real possibility._

 _"Or you could get trapped in a world and unable to come back?"_

 _"That's never-"_

 _"But it could happen?!"_

 _"Liv!" Her voice broke and she slammed her beer down on the coffee table. She bent forward and holding her head in her hands, tears flooding her eyes as she struggled to pull herself out of those fears. She had spent years building up a barrier to keep herself from reflecting on them. It was the only way she could cope. Going through her life there, knowing that either situation could one day happen to her, made it almost impossible to get out of bed. The idea of disappearing without a trace, no one knowing where she was or how to find her, scared her._

 _Breathing slowly, she brushed the tears from her cheeks as she spoke, willing herself to pull it together. Despite still recovering from traveling with a person, she knew she was still vulnerable and now would be the worst possible time to disappear. Whether she would be able to return immediately or not, her sister would be terrified if it happened._

 _"All I can do right now is… do whatever I can to control it. That's it. No one else knows about this, except for you… and the people I've met in other worlds. It needs to stay a secret."_

 _Olivia's frown deepened, but she still nodded, taking another drink before doing so. She needed it._

* * *

"Are you all right?"

Kyli blinked from thought for a moment, then shook her head, clearing her throat before taking another sip of tea. "Yeah," she answered at length. "I uh... I just didn't have any good news at the doctor's today."

Though he was still curious, Legolas seemed to accept that for now he would not be getting much more information on the matter from her, and he allowed for the subject to change. "Your limp has been getting more pronounced," he noted. "Is it the pain? Or is there still damage?"

She took another sip. "It's a bit of both. They suspect nerve damage, which they already warned me might happen. And the bones healed awkwardly in some spots but... if you saw the x-ray... the surgeon had such a mess to work with right from the start." She reached a hand down, rubbing at the afflicted area. "I was mostly pins and screws in there for a while. At least it felt that way."

"So they intend to do more surgery?" he assessed, but she shook her head.

"My doctor thinks we may have run out of options," she replied, shaking head head. "The word 'wheelchair' was brought up..." She hid her emotions behind another sip.

"You should get a second opinion."

"He's already referring my case to a few other specialists... but I'm not getting my hopes up." She could see he was ready to offer her more advice but, finding herself not wanting to dwell on it any more at that moment, she changed the subject back in the direction of what brought him there. "I still want to help you and my sister... but right now I'm not sure what's the best way to do it. I haven't been able to come up with an excuse to bump into your father."

He seemed a bit thrown from having to switch gears so suddenly, but he caught up quickly. "Neither of us exactly expect you to waltz right up to him and offer to be his friend," he replied in understanding.

"That's not going to happen," Kyli agreed. "But if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them."

He lowered his gaze to her table, his fingers tracing patterns over the wood. "Olivia and I... we plan to come out to everyone by the end of the month. That's in two weeks."

"That's quick."

"If we intend to wed as early as we originally planned, it needs to happen that quickly," he replied.

Kyli shook her head. "Don't you think you're rushing this? I know Olivia has a limited window of time in which she'll still be able to squeeze into her dress size, but even that's a lame excuse to hurry."

"My father-"

"You know... I think you're just using him as an excuse," she interrupted, ignoring the look it brought to his face. "I think you're panicking and your father's just a convenient excuse to hide it." Legolas' brow furrowed, but Kyli kept talking before he could argue otherwise. "You knocked up my sister, you feel guilty that you put her in that position, and you think that this is the right thing. That this will make things better. You use your father to justify it but you don't really want to admit that you're just panicking because you feel guilty."

Legolas lowered his eyes, seemingly lost in thought for a while before answering her. "If I were panicking... would you blame me?"

"No... but I also wouldn't sit by and let you push Olivia into something I don't think she's fully decided she wants yet." Kyli sighed, analyzing him silently for a moment. "Talk to my sister again," she replied. "Really talk to her and find out what she wants. What she _really_ wants."

"Are you truly worried over what she wants?" he asked. "Or what you want?"

"She's my sister," Kyli spoke firmly. "Our relationship may be flawed, but I still look out for her. And even I'd help her with this if it was what she really wanted. Regardless of what I might think about it." She gave him a meaningful look. "Do this for me... and I'll find an excuse to talk to your father again by the end of the week."

Legolas met her gaze once more, considering her compromise silently, and nodded. "Deal."

* * *

 _"Olivia, you can't tell anyone about this." Kyli approached her sister, a pleading look in her eyes, though she stood firm. "Promise me you won't tell. No matter what happens."_

 _"Kyli…"_

 _"Promise me!" she demanded._

 _Olivia sighed, but nodded. "All right," she answered in a low voice. "But you have to promise me you'll stop lying! From now on, I want to know what's going on with you. No more leaving me in the dark. No more secrets. I can't just leave here today and be afraid of what's going to happen to you. You have to promise me you're going to be honest."_

 _Kyli frowned, but she knew it was a fair trade. And deep down, she was relieved to have someone from home that she could confide in. She had so many stories to tell…_

 _"Deal," she answered._


End file.
